The Story of Us
by lovelifeandwatermelons
Summary: An AU fic. What would happen if Jack and Kim grew up together and used to be best friends, but a few years ago, they had a huge fight and stopped speaking to each other? Now, they're 10th graders and haven't spoken to one another for 4 years. Click for full summary. Kick :D
1. A Daring Question

**SUMMARY: **An AU fic. What would happen if Jack and Kim grew up together and used to be best friends, but a few years ago, they had a huge fight and stopped speaking to each other? Now, they're 10th graders and haven't spoken to one another for 4 years. One day, out of the blue, Jack begins talking to Kim again and invites her to sit with him and his friends at lunch. But is Kim still mad at him for ignoring her for so long? Will they become friends again.. and maybe more? Kick :D

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Kickin' It. It would be nice if I did, but I don't. Also, this story is fictional, meaning that any resemblance between characters and real life people (excluding the cast of Kickin' It) is coincidental, as well as any resemblance between places in the story and in real life.**

**Kim's POV**

I'm on my computer surfing the internet when I see an IM notification pop up from a user I haven't heard from in years. In fact, I'm not even sure it's who I think it is. He's probably changed his username by now… Out of curiosity, I click on it.

**BlackBelt177: Hi Kim**

I type out a quick reply.

**TheKimCrawford: Heya. Umm who are you?**

**BlackBelt177: Jack Brewer**

Oh. It is who I thought it was.

**TheKimCrawford: Oh okay**

**BlackBelt177: Do you have a lot of homework?**

Okay.. so he finally talks to me after like, what? 3 years? No, 4. Just to ask me about homework? Sure, we may say hi in the hallways and at karate we spar occasionally, but he hasn't said this much to me in like, ages.

**TheKimCrawford: I did, but I'm done it all. What about you?**

**BlackBelt177: Nope not done yet :/ **

** TheKimCrawford: Shouldn't you be doing your homework.. like.. now?**

** BlackBelt177: I'll do it later. So, Kim, what do you do at lunch?**

Umm.. why would he want to know? Whatever. Better talking to him than sitting here bored out of my mind.

**TheKimCrawford: Hang out with Grace, but nowadays she's joined so many clubs I can only hang out with her on Fridays. So, I guess, not much.**

** BlackBelt177: Ok then, do you want to sit with me and my friends at lunch tomorrow? **

Hmm.. well, sitting alone against the cafeteria wall isn't much fun..

**BlackBelt177: I mean, you always look so lonely sitting against that wall. **

Okay. This guy is like, a mind reader.

**TheKimCrawford: Sure, I guess. Where do you guys sit?**

** BlackBelt177: In the corner furthest away from the lunch line**

** TheKimCrawford: Okay, I guess I'll meet you there at the lunch bell.. I've got to go now, though. Byee!**

** BlackBelt177: Oh ok bye.**

** _TheKimCrawford has exited this chat._**

I wonder why he asked me to sit with him at lunch. I mean like, it's not like we're friends anymore. What he did to me in sixth grade was really inconsiderate, and I'm not sure if I've really forgiven him. I guess I could, though. It is Jack, after all. Hm. I turn off the computer and head upstairs to get ready for bed.

**Jack's POV**

I say bye to Kim and exit our chat. Wow, that was way easier than I thought it was gonna be. When Jerry first dared Milton and I each to ask a girl that we were close to if they would sit with us, I panicked a little, because since Kim and I… fought.. . I haven't really gotten close to any girls.

Besides, what kind of a dare is that? Dares are supposed to be like, run around the school in a dress, or something else humiliating. Coming from Jerry, that dare was pretty lame- last time he made me say yes to everything for a day, and I ended up dating Katie Travis. Not fun. Anyways, Jerry probably has something planned. I wonder who Milton asked. Probably Julie, that girl with glasses that he was staring at across the cafeteria last week.

My thoughts drift to Kim as I shut down my laptop and look for my science textbook. When she ditched the braces and dorky glasses a few months ago, I realized how pretty she is now. She's always been pretty, but when you've got glasses like those, well, let's just say that's all people notice. But now that those horrid glasses are gone, she's actually quite pretty, and apparently, I'm not the only one who's noticed.

I heard that last week, she got asked out by a senior. A SENIOR! And, what's even bigger, she turned him down! Now, rumor has it that at least 12 guys are crushing on her right now, and at least half of them are on the football team. I rummage through my backpack, looking for my textbook. It isn't there. Oh, that's right, I left it downstairs. I run downstairs and quickly grab the textbook I left on the couch earlier. When I get back to my room, I begin my science homework and try to keep my mind off what will happen tomorrow.

**Hahaha I was editing this after two months and when I read it I was like wow this is so weird. I'm actually sort of ashamed of it. My writing is sooo different now… Anyways.. Review! ****Even if it's been a few months since this story was completed, I still do check for reviews, so please, let me know what you think. Thanks!**


	2. The Flashback

**Wow. I didn't think I would get so many reviews, follows and favorites. It might not seem like a lot to some, but it's a huge amount to me. You all are amazing and ilysm. So I decided to continue the story since you seem to like it. **

**Thanks to the following people..**

.5

Jackandkimluver

MoVe-It-Or-LoSe-It

Imnevertellingwhoiam

Whoahhh11

ShiningStars152

LiveYourPassions

Babycakes92

Kick Love 801

LoveTootsiePop99

Brightdarknessx

**… for either following, reviewing or favoriting this story. It means a lot to me and thank you all so much! (sorry if I missed anyone)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own kickin it (sadly)**

**Okay, on to the story now.. **

**Kim's POV**

I fall asleep the instant my head hits the pillow. I'm exhausted.

_I'm on the bus beside my best friend, Grace. I think we're in grade 8 and on our way to Six Flags Amusement Park. Just then, we hear the popular girls at the back of the bus giggling loudly at something Jack Brewer said. _

_That's just pathetic," Grace says, "They probably don't even think it's funny, but they're all head-over-heels in love with him. You can tell they're trying to get his attention, but it's all useless, though."_

_That catches my attention. "Why?" I ask. "He's available, isn't he?"_

_"Not as of yesterday." Grace replies. "I heard that he finally got the guts to make a move on Emerald Millers, during lunch yesterday." I glance over at Emerald. She's a nice enough girl, very pretty, but she adores to suck up to the popular girls like Kelsey Vargas, Heather Clarke and Nikki Gordon, to name a few. You can tell the popular girls don't really like her, but Emerald buys them whatever she wants- her dad is a multimillionaire- so they tolerate her anyways. _

_"What did he do?" I ask her._

_"I'm not really sure, all Mika told me is that he made a move on her, and they're now girlfriend and boyfriend. I heard all the populars (our short name for the popular people) are super jealous of Emerald, at least the girls are. I even heard Kelsey say that every girl has had a crush on Jack Brewer at least once in their lives. He could have anyone he wants."_

_"Hm," I say. "Kelsey actually said that? Someone sounds jealous…. " Grace laughs._

_ "Kim, weren't you and Jack best friends at one time?" I look at Grace confusedly. What does this have to do with Jack and Emerald?_

_ "Yeah, we were best friends for the first like, twelve years of our lives, until we had a huge fight near the beginning of sixth grade."_

_ "Oh. What happened?"_

_ "I don't really like to talk about it. It hurts too much."_

_ "Kim, you know you can tell me anything. Best friends for life, remember?"_

_ "Oh, fine. We were doing a school video project, and Jack and I were partners. We usually work really well together but the deadline was in two days and we still hadn't started the project. We were both on edge and were really crabby. One thing led to another, and soon we were full out insulting each other." I can feel tears forming in my eyes, but I wipe them away and continue the story. "H-h-he called me a dumb, useless blond and an idiot airhead_(A/N not meant to be offensive to anyone. Just part of the story. Sorry if it offends you, I really didn't mean it!) _and the worst project partner ever. I should've just ignored it, but instead I called him some pretty mean names too, I'm not sure what- I was so mad! He stormed out of my house and went home, and that night I cried myself to sleep." I'm really full-out crying now, and Grace is comforting me._

_ "Kim, I'm really sorry. I should've listened when you said you didn't want to talk about it. Please stop crying!" Grace pleads with me to stop._

_ "That's okay, Grace. I need to get it out of my system." I say, calming down and wiping away my tears. _

_ "If that's what you want."_

_ "Okay, so, the next morning I tried to text him, like, 20 times, but none of my messages would get across. It turns out, he blocked my number, and when word got to me, I was devastated. We never ended up finishing the project and both got an F, but I didn't even care because the fact that Jack and I weren't friends anymore just hurt so much that I couldn't think about anything else. We haven't spoken since."_

_ "Oh." Grace says, then opens her mouth to say more, but decides not to say anything and motions for me to continue._

_ "It seems so stupid now, that we let one fight tear down years and years of a good, solid friendship. We pretty much ignore each other now, except for the occasional 'hi', and sometimes I wonder if he even remembers how close we used to be." I tear up again. "Sonetimes, I wonder if he even cares anymore." _

_ Grace hugs me. I'm so lucky to have a best friend like her. Soon, she's got me laughing again and-_

"Kim! WAKE UP! At this rate, you're gonna be late to school!" I hear my mom's voice yelling at me from the kitchen.

"Urghhhh", I groan and roll out of bed. I glance at the clock. '7:50 AM', it reads. I'm gonna have to hurry if I'm going to make it to school on time. I grab my brand-new yellow tank top and my favorite pair of black skinny jeans out of a drawer, then take a pretty grey cardigan from my closet and slip it on. I add a pair of grey ankle-length boots and twirl in front of the mirror before heading downstairs and eating a quick breakfast.

At 8:03, I head out of the house and begin walking to school. It usually takes about ten minutes to get there and classes begin at 8:30, so I take my own sweet time getting there and begin to daydream.

I recall the dream I had last night. Was it a dream? Nope, it was more of a flashback. That's weird, I didn't know you could have dreams about flashbacks… Anyways, I'm glad I told Grace about what had happened to Jack and I because after two years, the story was getting heavier to carry. Honestly, the fight shouldn't have hurt me so much, but because it was Jack, it did.

I turn the last corner before I reach the school, and soon I walk up to the front doors and head into the school towards the locker that I share with Grace. Today's going to be an interesting day, I can just feel it.

**So there you have it, my second chapter! Rate and review please and if I get enough reviews, I will update soon! **

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons 3**


	3. The Next Day

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! You're all so amazing for following, reviewing and favoriting this story. Thank you all! I feel so lucky! :D**

**Grace's POV**

Kim walks up to our locker and drops her bag inside.

"Hey Grace!" she says.

"Hi", I reply. "What do you have for first period?"

"Advanced Math", she groans. "I don't hate the subject, but the teacher, Ms. Nimura, is so…" She trails off.

"Strict?" I ask. "I had her last year. Ugh." The warning bell rings, and Kim and I quickly say goodbye and head for our classes. I have Social Studies, one of my least favorite subjects. I sit in the back, near the popular girls, then open my notebook and begin to doodle.

"Buzz buzz" (Think vibrating phone) , I hear. It's coming from my bag. I look around to make sure no one's looking, then I open my bag and unlock my phone. Oh, it's a text from Kim.

_Hey Grace wanna know what happened last night? –K_

_Sure, _I text back to her. _Tell meee! –G_

_Jack IM'd me. He wants me to sit with him at lunch 2day. And no, before you ask, I have no idea why. –K_

Whoa what? _O_O HE DID WHAT? After 4 yrs of ignoring you, he asks you to sit with him? Who does he think he is? You're not going to do it, are you? –G_

_ Umm.. I sort of already told him yes. And quit freakin. It's not like he asked me out –K_

_ True, sorry. But aren't you still mad at him? –G_

_ What he did to me wasn't right, but I'm over it now. Gtg sorry seeya at break! –K_

_ Ok byee! –G_

Something doesn't seem right to me. Why would Jack suddenly start speaking to Kim again? After all, he's the one who blocked her phone number in the first place. He's the one who wouldn't talk to her even after she said sorry a million times, even after she fell into such a deep depression because she missed him that much. I have a feeling something's going to happen to Kim, and it's not going to be good. I send one more text to Kim, as an afterthought.

_Ki__m if you do sit with him, pls be careful. I get the feeling something's not right with this. –G_

She replies almost instantly. _Chill, Grace. I'll be careful. Nothing's gonna happen to me. –K _

**Lunchtime (Kim's POV) **

The cafeteria's serving mystery meat today. It's called Mystery Meat because not even the lunch ladies know what kind of meat it is, or if it even is meat. For all we know, it could be made of… I don't even want to think about it. It's a good thing I brought a lunch from home today. I grab the paper bag with my lunch inside and head to the cafeteria.

I spot Grace heading down the hallway in front of me and run to catch up, but she disappears around a corner, probably heading for whatever club she has to go to today, so I walk for a little bit more till I reach the cafeteria.

I walk through the doors and am immediately greeted by the sound of kids yelling, people eating, and a lot of chatter. Our cafeteria is NOT a quiet one, in fact, a lot of fights break out here quite often.

I look around for Jack but can't find him, so I walk over to where he said his table would be. And there he is, sitting with Shawn, Bryden(A/N some OCs that I created to add more drama mwahahaha ), Jerry, Milton, and Eddie. Oh, but that's not it. Julie is sitting beside Milton, and she's laughing at something he said. What's she doing here? Isn't she usually with Mika and Emerald? Whatever.

There's an empty seat beside Jack, and so hesitantly I sit down and say hi to Jack. The table slowly falls silent.

"Kim?" Shawn turns to Jack. "What's she doing here?" He says quietly, but not so quietly that I can't hear him. I'm sorry, but the guy can't whisper!

"Remember Jerry's dare? She's the girl I decided to invite." Jack says to Shawn. What's this about a dare? He only invited me because of a dare!? "But it's not just that. I have something to tell her, but I need to wait until she's comfortable with me again." Okay, so he has something to tell me. So it's not just a dare. Now I'm just confused, but I leave it to figure out later.

"Fine," Shawn says. "But be careful, okay?"

**I wanted to update for you guys, but I have to go now, so I'm just gonna leave it at that and try to get another chapter up tomorrow. Please R&R. Thanks for reading! Also, I need help with an idea for a prank that someone's gonna pull on Kim in the cafeteria, so if you have any ideas, please include it in your review. Thanks and love you all!****Credits to Kickismylifee for Shawn and Bryden's names, and Shawn's personality. Thank you for helping with my OC's!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermel****ons**


	4. The Next Day part two

**Okay honestly I thought the last chapter sucked and on top of that it was way too short and it had an abrupt ending, so I'm baacckkk (again!) to make it up to you. Warning, this one's pretty short too. Thanks a million to everyone who followed or favorited or reviewed. It totally made my day. And as promised, my shoutouts:**

**Kicklove801**

**Neyson14**

**Twowriterswithadream**

**Thanks for being wonderful XD**

** Okay, on to the story. **

**Previously on The Story of Us (Kim's POV)**

There's an empty seat beside Jack, and so hesitantly I sit down and say hi to Jack. The table slowly falls silent.

"Kim?" Shawn turns to Jack. "What's she doing here?" He says quietly, but not so quietly that I can't hear him. I'm sorry, but the guy can't whisper!

"Remember Jerry's dare? She's the girl I decided to invite." Jack says to Shawn. What's this about a dare? He invited me because of a dare!? "But it's not just that. I have something to tell her, but I need to wait until she's comfortable with me again." Okay, so he has something to tell me. So it's not just a dare. Now I'm just confused, but I leave it to figure out later.

"Fine," Shawn says. "But be careful, okay?"

…

**Kim's POV**

"Why is everyone so quiet?" Jerry breaks the awkward silence. "What happened?" I can tell it was obviously my arrival that caused the awkwardness, but apparently he didn't pick up on it. I guess he's still the same old Jerry I used to know way back when. Still confused. It makes me smile a little but I quickly hide it.

I'm grasping at threads here, trying to find something to say, but it's like my mind froze. I begin to eat my lunch, which turns out to be a salami sandwich. What should I say? But someone else says something before I have to.

"Hey, Bryden, wasn't there that thing I had to show you?" Shawn asks slowly, raising his eyebrows at Bryden.

"Umm.. what thing?" Bryden asks hesitantly.

"You know, I have to show you.. my.. umm.. science project! Yeah! Before I hand it in!" Shawn says.

"OH, RIGHT! Umm guys, we'll be right back. I just have to check.. Shawn's.. umm what was it again?"

"Science project." Shawn and Bryden get up and walk away. Wow, they're both really bad liars. Even I can tell they're lying, and I'm one of those people who usually only notices the good sides of people.

**Jack's POV**

I watch Shawn and Bryden leave through the main cafeteria doors, whispering all the way. Something ain't right there. I know for sure the Science project thing was completely made up. Shawn just handed in his science project this morning. I should know, I'm in the same Science class as him.

So I stand up and make up an excuse about having to go find someone. I hurry to the doors and walk a few feet behind Shawn and Bryden. They're not even heading for a locker or a classroom- they're going down a deserted hallway where none of the classrooms are used because some of them are undergoing renovation. There's no one there right now, though, because the construction happens after school.

I'm not sure whether to continue following them or not. Since there's no other kids around and I have no excuse to be here, I'm more likely to get caught. But they've stopped whispering now, and I catch my name in their conversation. I have to find out what they're talking about now. Stupid curiosity.

Suddenly, they vanish. I look around and spot a janitor's closet with light shining from under the door. They have to have gone in there. I creep closer to it and carefully press my ear to the door.

"Dude, I told you already, Jerry only dared them to do it because I bribed him." That one sounds like Shawn.

"Oh. How much?" Definitely Bryden.

"Doesn't matter. What's important is that we do what we have to do. So, what's the plan?"

"First, we get her comfortable. We won't prank her until, let's say, Friday. Friday, we pull the first prank. Then, if she sticks around, another one next Wednesday. And we gotta keep our cover. She can't know it's us."

"Umm then who is she supposed to think it is?"

"We'll worry about that later."

"Shawn?"

"Yeah?"

"I feel sort of bad about this. I mean like, it's not like she did anything at all to deserve it. At least, not to us. Now that I think about it, this is a really lame idea."

"Hey! It was my idea!"

"Oh wait no I meant it's really… great! A really great idea!" They don't say anything for a while. "What's the point of this anyways?"

"I told you already! This is to get revenge on Kim for being such a (insert swear word of choice here cuz I don't swear hehe) when Jack tried to apologize to her over the phone a few years ago. This is the first opportunity we've had since then to get back at her. No one deserves what she did to Jack. It was brutal, I tell you. Brutal!" Oh, great, even new kid Bryden is gonna know about Kim and I now, and he just got here three weeks ago! What is it with people and really old gossip? And wait- what was that about revenge? I don't want them to do anything to her. Sure, what she did to me hurt a lot, but it's pretty old and I think I'm over it now. I'm just about to open the closet door when Bryden speaks again.

"Be honest, Shawn, you're not doing this for Jack. You just want to see the look on Kim's face when you prank her. You're doing this for fun."

"Oh, shut up. At least I can pretend I have a good reason. We should get back now. Jack's probably wondering where we are."

That's my cue. I run down the hallway and disappear around the corner just as I hear the closet door creak open. I run all the way back to the cafeteria and sit back down at my seat. Eddie's gone now, too, but Milton, Jerry, Kim and Julie are still there.

"Hey guys, I'm back. Where's Eddie?" I ask.

"Oh, some random kid dragged him away. I don't even know where he went." Jerry's trying to balance a pen on its point and failing. It ain't ever gonna work, bro.

**Okay, so that's my chapter for today. I'm sorry it's so short but I'm still struggling to figure out where I want this story to go. Oh, and I might include a chapter with a game of Truth or Dare. I know it's pretty cliché now since many writers use it but I sort of want to hehe. So if you have any good Dares or Truth questions, please include them if you review! I'll love you forever ;) Please please please review because it motivates me to update faster and write longer chapters. XD**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelon**


	5. English Class

**Hi! I didn't get that many reviews for the last chapter, but I'm updating for the wonderful people who reviewed. This chapter is a little of a filler, cuz I'm still figuring out the plot. And, as promised, my shoutout for today:**

**Jackxxxkimlover**

**Neyson14**

**Thanks for being wonderful J**

**Okay, on to the story..**

**Kim's POV**

The bell rings and we all head off to our various classes. I have English Literature next, where we're studying Shakespearean plays.

Lots of the kids don't like this unit, but I think lots of Shakespeare's plays are quite beautiful and romantic- especially Romeo and Juliet. Oh, every time I hear this one scene in the play, I swoon inside my head. It must be nice to be Juliet, well, at least until she finds Romeo dead.

I get to class, then stop just before I walk through the doorway. Oh, great. I forgot I had this class with Jack, Milton, Shawn, and Bryden. Well, this is brilliant.

And even better, the only seat left in the classroom just happens to be smack dab in the middle of those four. Yay… note my sarcasm. It's not that I have a problem with them, it's just, well, lunch was so awkward already, and Mrs. Muller, our English Lit teacher, tends to put us in reading groups with the kids around us.

I hesitantly enter the classroom and take the last seat. Jack smiles at me, but the rest of them ignore me. Wow, it's been, like, forever since I last saw that beautiful smile. Well, no. It's been forever since that smile was last directed at me. Wait, am I daydreaming about Jack? Pull yourself together, girl!

Mrs. Muller writes the name of the play we're reading today on the board, then puts us in reading groups. Yay, it's Romeo and Juliet! No, I'm with Jack, Bryden and Shawn!

We pull our chairs into a circle and open our books to the act we're supposed to be reading- Act 3, Scene 5.

"Okay, so who's gonna play Romeo and who's gonna play Juliet?" I ask. Shawn and Bryden glance at each other.

"Not it!" They say in unison.

"Wow, guys, real mature", Jack rolls his eyes. "I guess it's me and you, Kim. Do you want Romeo or Juliet?" Jack smirks.

"Umm… Juliet, duh."

"Okay."

"Enter Romeo and Juliet aloft", Shawn says, then we begin reading.

**" **Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day.

It was the nightingale, and not the lark,

That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear.

Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate tree.

Believe me, love, it was the nightingale." I read, putting expression into my voice. This is such a beautiful act.

"It was the lark, the herald of the morn,

No nightingale. Look, love, what envious streaks

Do lace the-" Jack pauses. "This is stupid and it doesn't make any sense. Can I skip it?"

"No! First of all, it's not stupid, it's", I sigh, "Romantic. And anyways, just get it over with."

Jack rolls his eyes and continues to read.

"Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east.

Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day

Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.

I must be gone and live, or stay and die." Jack reads.

"Yon light is not daylight, I know it, I.

It is some meteor that the sun exhales

To be to thee this night a torchbearer,

And light thee on thy way to Mantua.

Therefore stay yet. Thou need'st not to be gone."

"Let me be ta'en. Let me be put to death.

I am content, so thou wilt have it so.

I'll say yon grey is not the morning's eye.

'Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia's brow." I can see him losing himself in the words.

"Nor that is not the lark, whose notes do beat

The vaulty heaven so high above our heads.

I have more care to stay than will to go.

Come, death, and welcome! Juliet wills it so.

How is 't, my soul? Let's talk. It is not day." Wow, when he forgets about acting cool, he's actually really good at this stuff. He makes a really good Romeo. And I'm not the only one who notices.

"Brava, Jack, Brava, Kim! That was astounding. Best in the class, I must say." Jack looks embarrassed. I can tell he didn't mean to read so well. "Would you mind reading that in front of the class?"

**Jack's POV**

GAH! Why on earth did I read that so well? I meant to make it really really bad, because I've built up my reputation as more of a player than a romantic, beginning ever since Kim and I fought. It just hurt me too much, you know? But now my stupid romantic side is back. All thanks to a poem. Great.

Oh, who am I kidding? I lost focus because of Kim. If it had been any other girl, I would've read it as I usually do- sarcastically and toneless. It's just, she sounded and looked so beautiful while she read that I could barely think about anything else, and I guess the words just… absorbed me.

I can see Bryden looking at me in shock, and Shawn's snickering at me.

"What happened to player Jack? More like Romeo. I think I'll call you that from now on." He snickers. He can get really annoying sometimes, but I just ignore him. With no fuel the fire stops burning, you know?

I didn't know Mrs. Muller was listening, and now Kim and I are getting pushed to the front of the class to read. Well, I'm getting pushed. Kim's skipping, obviously delighted. Just then, by an incredible stroke of luck, the bell rings, and I grab my bag and run out of class before anyone can say a thing.

**So, what did you think? Please please please review, cuz I like having your opinions in mind when I'm writing a new chapter. I know this one is a little mushy, but if you're a true Kick shipper you won't mind hehe. Love you all!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	6. Jack warns Kim

**Okay, I feel like the last chapter was a little weird. So, sorry if it weirded you out. And if you haven't noticed yet, I can be pretty insecure about my writing. I don't even know why. Anyways, new chapter! **

**Jack's POV**

After school ends, I walk home as usual, a little ways behind Kim, who lives a few blocks away from me. When I get home, I say hi to my mom, grab an apple from the kitchen, and turn on the computer.

I log into my chat account and notice that Kim's online, so I decide to open a chat room and invite her.

_Blackbelt177 has opened a chat room._

_TheKimCrawford has entered the chat room._

**Blackbelt177: **Hi, Kim

**TheKimCrawford: **Hey! What's up?

**Blackbelt177: **The ceiling and the sky :P

**The Kim Crawford: **Okay… sure that works. Hey, where did you disappear off to during lunch?

What do I tell her? The truth? No, she'll think I'm making it up.

**Blackbelt177: **Umm.. I went to findmy.. water bottle.. that I dropped in Science class

**TheKimCrawford: **Oh, okay.

**Blackbelt177: **Sorry I left you alone with Milton, Julie and Jerry.

**TheKimCrawford: **Oh, that's fine. We had a lot of fun. As soon as Shawn and Bryden left, the awkwardness disappeared.

**Blackbelt177: **Good, it wasn't just me. You noticed it too.

**TheKimCrawford: **yep..

**Blackbelt177: **You don't have to sit with us if you don't want to, you know? Just because I invited you doesn't mean you have to. I mean, you can, but if you don't want to..

**TheKimCrawford: **No, I think I'll stay. It's way better than being all alone.

**Blackbelt177: **Okay.

**TheKimCrawford: **brb, mom calling me. Probably laundry again -_-

**Blackbelt177: **K tyt (for those of you who are wondering, this means take your time)

While Kim is gone, I think back to what Shawn and Bryden said today. I can't help but feel like they were talking about Kim.

It makes sense, because Jerry dared me to invite a close friend, and if what I heard was right, then Shawn paid Jerry to dare me to invite a girl I was close to to sit with us. Shawn probably doesn't even care who it is, he just wants to prank her.

Should I warn Kim about the pranks? He said Friday and Wednesday, right? But I'm not even sure if he was talking about Kim, he could as well be talking about Julie. Then, I remember Shawn's rant just before I ran away- he said it was for revenge on Kim! It's got to be Kim. It all makes sense.

I'm not sure if I should do something. After all, if I warn Kim she might not believe me, but if I don't do anything, she's gonna be pranked and I remember how sensitive she used to be, even when she made everyone else believe she was tough. She would never fool me. Kids would pick on her, and she'd give them attitude, but later, when she got home, she'd cry, because she always believes everything people say about her.

I don't want to see Kim hurt. So I decide to warn her. Wait- should I just confront Shawn about the pranks? I consider it, but then decide it's not a good idea. He's my friend too, and I don't want to lose another friend, even though he can be really cruel.

Once, he broke a bird's wing with a stone just to watch it try to fly and fail. Another time, he stole a little kid's lollipop. To be honest, I don't know why he's my friend. He just is.

I look back at the screen and see that Kim's back.

**TheKimCrawford:** I gtg now. Mom yelling. See ya tomorrow!

**Blackbelt177:** Okay, bye (:

I'll warn her tomorrow. I still have two days, anyways. Maybe I can stop the prank.. Honestly, Shawn's one of my best friends, but if he pulls something on Kim, I'm going to be really, really mad. Especially since he doesn't really have a reason- he's going to hurt her for fun.

**The next day.. Kim's POV**

I'm making my way through the crowded hallways to the cafeteria with Shawn. In one day, we've become pretty good friends. It's amazing what happens when you find out you have a lot in common with someone- you can't stop talking to them! He's actually really nice. Shawn gets held up talking to this guy I don't know and tells me he'll meet me in the cafeteria, so I keep walking. Then, I feel a tap on my shoulder. It's Jack. He says something to me, but I don't hear him the first time, so he just shakes his head and motions for me to follow him, so I do. We turn right, down an almost-empty corridor- nearly empty because there are no lockers here, only classrooms.

"Kim, I need to warn you about something."

"Warn me? Why?"

"What's your first impression of Shawn?"

"Uhh.. Funny, kind, and cool. Why?" she smirks. "You jealous I was talking to him?" Jealous? The thought never occurred to me. I was too busy trying to make sure you were ok, and that Shawn hadn't pulled anything on you yet.

"Why wouldn't I be ok?" Oh wait, did I just say that out loud? I mentally curse myself for my stupidity.

"Kim, Shawn may seem nice, but he's actually not.

"What do you mean?"

"He has it out for you. On Friday, he's planning to do something to you."

"Like what? How could he," she makes air quotes, "Have it out for me? He's really very kind." I groan. Shawn's got her completely fooled.

"Kim, it's all an act. And I overheard him saying that he was going to prank you on Friday."

"How do I know you're not lying? Why should I believe you?"

"Kim, would I lie to you about something like this?"

"I don't know, I don't even know you anymore. I used to trust you, but I just don't know anymore."Wow, that one hurt. But I refuse to give up. Knowing Shawn, the prank's going to be cruel. And I won't let Kim Crawford get hurt.

"Kim, please, just believe me. Even if you want to sit with them today, don't go on Friday, and don't tell anyone what I told you." I implore.

"How do I know this isn't a prank?" she looks at me disbelievingly.

"Trust me, Kim, it isn't."

"Whatever. I'm going to the cafeteria. Wanna come?"

"No. That's okay. I'm gonna go eat lunch outside today." She looks almost as if she wants to come with me for a moment, and I'm about to ask her if she wants to, when she turns around and walks away.

**So there you have it, another chapter. Please review and tell me what you thought, cuz that makes it easier for me to write. I'll post the next chapter when I get at least 5 reviews. Oh, and if you want something specific to happen in the story, as long as it fits with my story line, just include it in your review and I'll do my best to work it in. You know, since I'm running out of ideas. Love you all and thanks for reading!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	7. Kim's plan

**Hey! I got my five reviews, so I wrote you guys a new chapter! Love you all you're all so amazing. **

**Kim's POV**

I walk back to the cafeteria, considering what Jack told me. Could it be true? Shawn seems like a genuinely nice guy, but then again, Jack never really lied to me in the past. But, like I said, I don't know him anymore, and so I don't know if I can still trust him.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to be considered his friend again, but every time I remember that one night, I get teary. And I haven't cried since my grandma died when I was three. That's how much it hurt me.

I sit down at the cafeteria table and say hi to everyone.

"Where's Jack?" Jerry asks.

"Oh, he's eating somewhere else today." I reply.

"Okay."

As I unwrap my burrito and take a bite, I watch Shawn closely, without him noticing. I keep on seeing him whispering to Bryden, who looks a little worried and guilty- I wonder why.

Shawn's not smiling, unlike when he's with me. Instead, I sense a bit of a malicious glint in his eye as he stands up and walks out of the cafeteria with no explanation, Bryden right on his heels. Maybe Jack is right about him pretending to be super nice. He's acting a little suspicious.

If Jack's telling the truth about what he heard, then maybe I should be careful. I'm still planning on sitting here on Friday, because even though I usually hang out with Grace on Friday, the Debate Club's at another school somewhere in California doing whatever they do in debate.

But I don't really feel like getting pranked, because some pranks can be really cruel, and as much as I'd like others to believe that I'm tough, it's really difficult for me not to get upset.

How can I avoid getting pranked? I ponder the question for a while, but when I come up with nothing even after I'm done my burrito, I decide to leave it for later. After all, I still have tomorrow to come up with something.

**After school**

Grace's coming over to my house today just to hang out, because she's free today. We're walking to my house, laughing really hard at a video she showed me on her phone. My heart's not fully in it, though. I'm debating whether or not to ask Grace for help. I don't usually like asking for help from people, but Grace is Grace. So I decide to tell her what happened.

"Grace, you know how I was sitting with Jack's crowd yesterday and today, right?"

"Yeah, what about it? Something happen?"

"Well, sort of. I was walking to the cafeteria when Jack stopped me and told me he had to warn me about something. Then, he went on to say how Shawn's not actually as nice as he seems and that he's planning on pulling a prank on me." I say.

"What do you mean, not as nice as he seems? The guy isn't nice at all! I've seen him push a little kid over on purpose then walk away without even saying sorry or helping the kid up. That guy is pure mean. I wouldn't be surprised if he pranks you. Watch your back, girl."Grace tells me as I open my front door and we walk in.

"I will. At first, I wasn't sure whether or not to believe Jack."

"Why not? As far as you've told me, he's never lied to you before, so why would he now?"

"I don't know. But now that you've said pretty much the same thing about Shawn, I'm inclined to believe him, and so earlier I decided that, if Shawn is actually pranking me, I'm gonna make it backfire on him."

"Backfire?" Grace asks.

"Yeah, you know, like I'm gonna find out what he's planning to do to me and do it to him before he has a chance to prank me. Or, if I can't find out what he's planning to do, I'll just pull something on him before he pulls something on me. Easy as that."

"I like it! He won't even see it coming." Grace laughs. "And don't you dare worry about being too mean to him. Last time you tried to prank someone, it didn't work because you got too soft-hearted again."

"I'm sorry, I decided it wasn't worth it! I'll try and be more merciless this time." I joke.

We start laughing, and I don't even know why. This is why I love being best friends with Grace- because even when I'm worried, she can make my mood turn completely around.

**The next morning (Jerry's POV)**

Grace walks up to me. Wow, she's pretty. Prettier than the girls I usually flirt with, and even they're way out of my league. I wonder what she wants from me.

"Hey, Jerry."She smiles at me. Wow, this is like last time, when rumour got out that I was dating Donna Tobin. I don't know who started it, but I should thank them, because I got more attention from girls then I ever had before. I wonder who I'm apparently dating this time?

"Hi, Grace. What to do, girl?" I say. Grace just stares at me blankly. What, did she not understand my swasome pick-up line?

"Umm… I don't know. Anyways, I was wondering if you could do me a little favor." She smiles again.

"Sure, anything for you." I can't believe she wants a favor from me. Whatever it is, I'll do it!

"Okay. Would you be able to spy on someone for me and tell me everything they say, especially involving Kim?"

"Sure. Who's the someone?"

She hesitates. "Shawn," She finally says. "Shawn and Bryden."

"I don't know, Grace, they're my best friends."

"I'll give you a kiss." She says.

"Wow! Okay! I'm in! I'll tell you everything they say!" I almost trip over myself running towards homeroom, where Shawn and Bryden are. I don't even take the time to wonder why she wants me to spy on them.

**Thanks for reading and love you all! Please review, and I'll post a new chapter when I get 7 reviews. You guys are amazing.**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	8. The Plan in Action Part 1

**Wow! You guys are so awesome! I asked for, what? 7 reviews? You definitely gave me way more. At least 14, last I checked. Thank you so much for that. I would've updated earlier but I was a little busy, so sorry for that, but the chapter's here now! Love you!**

**Grace's POV**

When Jerry said he'd tell me everything, he really did mean EVERYTHING. I log into my email account and sort through the 14 emails he sent me, two an hour. He literally wrote out all of Shawn's and Bryden's conversations, all day!

Most of the stuff is useless, just typical conversations, but when I open the 12th email, Kim's name immediately catches my eye.

**_Sent from Jerry Martinez (swagaliciousyo ) to Grace O'Doherty(graceodoherty45 ) at 12:07 AM_**

_So, Bryden was like, "What's the plan tomorrow?"_

_And then Shawn was like, "I thought you were planning it!"_

_And then Bryden said, "Oh, yeah. Right. Umm…"_

_Shawn was like, " You did plan something, didn't you?"_

_Bryden was like, "Yeah. I was thinking we could pour some ketchup in her napkin."_

_And then Shawn was like, "That's it? Please tell me there's more."_

_Bryden said, "Umm.. we can also.. loosen the salt shaker top at our table, as long as Kim's the first one to use it. And we can offer to carry Kim's tray for her, then stick it to the table."_

_Shawn was like, "Sounds good. I can't wait to see her face."_

_That's all for now, yo. Catch ya later, girl!_

_-Jerry _

I immediately forward the email to Kim. I sure hope she has a plan for tomorrow…..

**Kim's POV**

My phone buzzes. It's an email from Grace. I quickly scan it over.

_Hey Kim, here's the email Jerry sent me. Hope it helps and I wish I could be there to see the looks on their faces after whatever you're planning. Good luck tomorrow!_

I read Jerry's email then begin planning. I've heard of the first two pranks, but the third one seems a little lame. If they tape my tray to the table, can't I just pull it off? Whatever. The lamer their pranks are, the better for me!

My phone buzzes again. Shawn just texted me.

_Hey, Kim! You gonna sit with us tomorrow? –Shawn_

I text him back. _Yeah, I am. Why? –K_

He doesn't answer. Smart of him to check that I'm gonna be there before pouring ketchup in a napkin that someone else might accidentally use.

I'm sure he has no desire to get pummeled by a Black Dragon with ketchup all over their face. I'll be sure not to underestimate him.

Just then, another text comes in, from Jack this time. How on earth did he get my number? I changed it last year and, as far as I know, I never gave it to him.

_Kim, it's Jack. You aren't going to sit with Shawn tomorrow, are you? –J_

_Um.. does it matter? –K_

_Please, Kim, just promise me you won't. Even if you don't believe me, promise me just this once you won't sit with them. –J_

_Sorry, no can do. But don't worry about me. Nothing bad's gonna happen. You can even come and check out what's going to happen to them tomorrow. –K_

_What do you mean, come and check it out? –J_

_I mean that I'm going to make their pranks backfire on them. Yes, that does mean I do believe you. I got proof from Jerry that they're planning to prank me, and I found out what they're gonna do. –K_

_Nice! I'll definitely be there. What are you planning on doing? –J_

_It's a surprise. Be there tomorrow and you'll find out. –K_

_Okay, I'll meet you at your locker before lunch? –J_

_ Sure, but isn't that near Shawn's locker? I have to tell you something before I prank him and I don't want him to hear it, or it'll spoil the whole thing. –K_

_ Yeah, but you can tell me once we're sure he's far away. We gotta be sure- he's really good at eavesdropping. –J _

_Why are you friends with them, anyways, if you say Shawn's not a good person? –K_

_It's a long story. I'll tell you some other time. Mom's calling me, I gotta go. See you tomorrow! –J_

_Kays, bye –K_

** The next day at lunch (Jack's POV**

I see Kim at her locker and walk up to him. He sees me coming and waves.

"Hi, Kim! You gonna go and prank them now?"

"Yeah. You coming?"

"Yeah, sure."

We take our time walking to the cafeteria, talking about what had happened at our classes that morning.

"You have Mrs. Pepperman too? She assigns so much homework to us." Kim complains.

"Yeah, I know right? Did you guys get that huge mind map assignment today?"

"No, we're getting it tomorrow. I hear it's really difficult, though. Did she mark it really hard or something?"

"Nah, it's just so big that most kids got lazy and didn't finish it. That's why they thought it was hard."

We make more small talk, then just before we walk in, Kim glances around.

"Do you think Shawn's around?" She whispers.

I look inside the cafeteria and see him high-fiving Bryden.

"He's inside. What was it you wanted to tell me?

**Kim's POV**

A million things spin through my mind when he asks me that question. There's so much I want to say, but what comes out of my mouth isn't anything I was thinking of saying, thankfully.

Now's probably not a good time to bring that kind of stuff up. I'll find another time to tell him that kind of stuff, hopefully.

**Jack's POV**

"Hey, Jack, would you mind helping me prank Shawn?"

"Depends on what it is."

"In about five minutes after we enter the cafeteria, Shawn is going to run to the bathroom. While he's away, I need you to put this on his tray, not in his food, but somewhere he's going to see it right away. " She presses a small plastic object into my hand.

I glance at the object, then smile at her. Shawn's going to freak when he sees this. I remember how he used to tease me mercilessly about my fear of clowns for the first six months after he found out. It was so incredibly annoying. He totally deserves this.

"Sure," I say. "No problem."

** I think this is my first cliffy! Don't worry, I'll do my very best to post another chapter for you awesome people tomorrow. **

**Also, I was bored during my math class so I wrote out what I thought Kim's letter to Jack would've said in the episode Hit the Road Jack (you know, the one where Jack almost moves to Japan?) . **

**If you guys wanna read it, just write a review asking me to post it and I will. Love you all and please please please review!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	9. The Plan in Action Part 2

**As promised, here's the next chapter! Shoutout to MusicMusicMusic for figuring out what the object was before I even posted the chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

** Kim's POV**

I walk into the cafeteria with Jack just behind me. We get into the lunch line- I forgot to bring a lunch today, what with all the anticipation for only the best prank ever! Well, at least, the least lame prank that's been pulled in our cafeteria, if that makes any sense.

As soon as I get my serving of mystery meat and a juice box, I leave the lunch line. In a flash, Shawn's right beside me.

"Hi, Kim, can I carry your tray for you?" He asks with a smile on his face.

"Sure, thanks." I hand him the tray and we walk towards the table, with Jack right behind us. Shawn puts the tray down on the table, but then, he discovers that he can't take his hands off the tray. They're stuck. With what, you ask? Chewed gum, of course.

Earlier today, I got Grace to ask Jerry to pick off all the chewed gum from the bottom of the desks in his classroom, then he stuck them to this exact tray for me. Only I knew where to put my fingers so that they wouldn't get stuck. As Jerry said, that gum is sticky, yo!

Shawn's in a panic. "Kim! Kim! Help me! My fingers are stuck!" Everything's going according to plan. People are noticing, and some are laughing and videotaping him. It's actually pretty funny.

He manages to get his fingers unstuck, but there's wads of gum in between his fingers. He drops the tray and runs out of the cafeteria. Prank one, check!

How did I know he would run to the bathroom? Simple. I did a little digging and found that one of his pet peeves is chewed gum stuck to any surface. He's probably scrubbing the gum off his fingers right now.

I nod at Jack, and he puts the object on Shawn's tray, without anyone noticing. A few seconds later, Shawn returns and sits down to eat.

"Sorry about the gum, Shawn. I didn't know it was there." I beam at him.

"No problem. All gone, see?" He shows me his fingers, then picks up his fork- and promptly screams and scrambles backwards, falling off his chair.

"Spider! Spider! Someone help me!" He yells, but everyone's too busy laughing at him. Bryden picks up a napkin and tries to kill the spider, not knowing that it's plastic.

Little does Bryden know, I switched his napkin with mine. Both the spider and Shawn's shirt get splattered in ketchup. Ha, didn't see that one coming, did you, Shawn?

Then, I hear an enraged growl coming from the jocks' table. A huge guy stalks up to Shawn and grabs him by the front of his shirt, lifting him off the ground.

"You." He growls. "You made me spill salt all over the table."

"I.. what?" Shawn squeaks, clearly intimidated. I'm trying to hold my laughter in. The expression on his face is priceless, but it quickly changes to anger. "Bryden…." He mutters.

Bryden looks scared. "What?"

Neither of them knows that I switched the salt shakers between our table and the jocks', then left a note under it that read, "Surprise! From Shawn".

The confusion on both of their faces is evident- they thought I was going to use the salt shaker. Surprise, Shawn! I catch Jack's eye from across the table and he grins at me.

The football player is pulled back by one of his buddies, who obviously doesn't want his friend to get suspended in the middle of the football season.

"You got lucky this time, shrimp." He says to Shawn as his friend drags him away.

Shawn picks himself off the ground and flees the cafeteria. Bryden runs after him. In that second, I feel a flash of guilt. It gets bigger and bigger. I shouldn't have done this. It's one of the meanest things I've done in my life. Why on earth did I do this?

**Jack's POV**

As soon as Shawn and Bryden leave the cafeteria, I look around at the chaos. My gaze stops on Kim, and I see a vaguely familiar look in her eyes as she stares down at her lap. Guilt. That look instantly transports me back to that night we fought.

_"We're not going to finish in time, Jack." Kim says._

_"No! We have to! Just.. make it work!" I say, pacing behind her._

_"How can I make a video without footage?" She asks irritatably._

_"I don't know! You're the girl. You're supposed to magically have the solution to every problem!"_

_"Excuse me? I don't know everything just because I'm a girl!"_

_"Well, I've got nothing. So if you don't have anything either, I guess that means we fail this project. There's just no other solution."_

_"Fail? I can't fail!" Kim wails. "I haven't ever failed a project before!"_

_"Neither have I! Do I look like I want to?" I'm almost full-out yelling now._

_"I don't know, maybe you do!"_

_"You're the worst project partner I've ever had! All you are is a dumb, useless blonde and an idiot airhead who couldn't care less about school! I don't even know why I wanted to work with you!" I completely explode at her. She just sits there for a moment, in shock. All the fight goes out of me as I realize what I just said. "K-kim, I'm.." But she interrupts me before I can apologize. _

_"The same back at you! You're a selfish jerk, and you're calling me useless? I've been doing all the thinking in this group ever since we got this project! Don't you dare call me useless! I never want to talk to you again, Jack Brewer!" And all of a sudden, my anger is back._

_"Fine!" I yell at her._

_"Fine!" She screams._

_"Fine!" We yell in unison. I run out her front door, then I return a minute later. _

_"I forgot my stuff." I mutter sheepishly._

_"Take it and go!" She snaps at me without looking at me. I grab my bag and leave, but before I step out of her front door I glance back and see her watching me with a look of pure guilt, sadness and regret on her face. She sees me looking, and I can tell she's torn between apologizing and yelling at me. She chooses the latter. "Go! Now!"_

_I don't even get home before the tears start rolling down my cheeks. What have I done?_

"Jack? Jack!" I hear. Someone's shaking me. "Are you okay?" It's Kim, looking at me worriedly. "You've been staring at the same spot on the wall for five minutes."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nice prank you pulled there. Don't feel guilty. He totally deserved it, and it was either you or him." I say.

"How did you know I felt guilty?" She asks.

"Oh, I don't know. Just a thought." I smile at her knowingly, and she smiles back.

**Longest chapter yet! What did you think? Please review and let me know. Thanks for reading! Oh, and for anyone who wanted to read my version of Kim's letter to Jack from the episode 'Hit the Road Jack', that's up as well in a story I called 'I Won't Give Up On Us." Check that out if you liked this! **

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	10. Grace's Reaction

**Thank you all for reviewing, I love you so much. You guys are amazing, and every time I read your reviews, it totally makes my day even if I'm really down. This chapter goes out to everyone who reviewed. **

**Grace's POV**

I call Kim to find out what happened at lunch, since I haven't seen her since this morning.

The phone rings, and Kim picks up on the first ring.

"Hi, Grace!" She says.

"Hey, Kim! How'd the prank go?" I ask her.

"Great! Actually, if you check your email, I think Jerry sent you a video."

"Oh, okay. Give me a second." I turn on my computer, then log into my email. Sure enough, there it is- an email from Jerry. I click on it and play the video.

"Did you see it?" she asks.

"Yeah. OMG! The expression on his face!"

"Just wait for it. It gets better." She says. Then, I see the Shawn scramble away from the spider and begin to laugh hysterically.

"Who knew Shawn was scared of spiders? He totally screamed like a little girl!" I say, still laughing. The video ends with Shawn running out of the cafeteria.

"Grace?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think what I did was a little mean? I mean, like, he didn't even do anything to deserve it!" Kim says quietly. I can tell she feels guilty- Kim might be able to hide her emotions from most people, but she definitely can't fool me.

"Kim. Kim, listen to me. Do not feel guilty about this. He may not have done anything to you yet, but he was going to. You know that. Don't you dare regret what you did to him."

"Oh. When you put it that way, it sort of seems less mean."

"Yes, exactly."

"Well, I gotta go now, I've got karate."

"Okay, bye!"

"Bye." She hangs up.

**Okay, sorry this chapter is like, really really short. But right now I'm not sure whether to continue with this story line, or do a time skip two months in advance, to when Jack and Kim are closer friends and their feelings for each other are starting to develop further. Some people are also asking for more Jack/Kim conflict. So, as a result, I need your help deciding. Please please please review with what you want me to do- the choices are..**

**1. ****Time skip two months in advance****2. ****Continue with the same storyline****3. ****More conflict between Jack and Kim**

**Thanks! Hope you enjoyed.**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	11. Shawn declares war

**Okay, so I did the final count of votes both on reviews and PM, and I was laughing because the votes are tied. I also got a few reviews/PM's asking me to do combinations, so I've decided that's what I'm going to do. Thank you so much to everyone who voted/reviewed, and hope you enjoy! **

**Shawn's POV**

How could Kim possibly have known about the pranks I was planning on pulling on her? There is no way what happened at lunch today was a coincidence. It was definitely a setup. There's only one explanation for this- someone told Kim.

But, at this point, I don't really care who told Kim. What matters is that SHE was the one who chose to humiliate me, rather than just avoid the prank or sit there and take it.

It's a pity. We could've been friends. Now I have no choice but to retaliate. You have no idea what you just got yourself into, Kimberly Crawford.

**Monday morning (Two days later)**

**Jack's POV**

This weekend was pretty uneventful. I haven't seen Shawn since Friday at lunch, but I saw Kim at the mall on Saturday with Grace through a shop window. They waved at me, and I waved back.

I wonder if Shawn knows it was Kim that pranked him. If he does, Kim's going to have to be really careful. He can be quite ruthless, and it doesn't help that he was humiliated in front of pretty much the entire school. He likes to keep his dignity, and so I'm sure he's very angry- I just don't know if he knows who did it.

I grab my lunch from the fridge- I'm not planning to go to the cafeteria today- and head out the door. I step outside, and notice it's a little warm for a February morning.

After a block or two, I hear someone creeping up behind me and see a flash of black jeans and combat boots. I pretend not to notice, because I only know one person who wears combat boots- Kim. Unfortunately for her, she's not very good at scaring people, but I'm going to at least give her a chance.

"BOO!" Kim screams into my ear. I don't even turn around. "Come on, I'm not _that _bad at scaring people!" She sighs.

"Well," I start, but before I can finish, she decides to try scaring me again.

"CLOWN!" She yells.

"That wasn't any- CLOWN? WHERE?" I scream and hide behind Kim. I meant to say that it wasn't any better of an attempt, until what she said sank in. A few seconds later, I realize that Kim's snickering at me. I come out from behind her. "There wasn't any clown, was there?" I ask with a sheepish smile on my face.

"No, I just wanted to prove that I can scare you." Kim laughs.

"Well, then, congratulations, you sorta-maybe- okay, you scared me!" I tell her.

She starts laughing. Her laughter is so bubbly and contagious, I start laughing too. I don't even know what was funny. Then, she starts laughing harder.

After half a minute, our laughter dies down, but all it takes is a second of eye contact and we both start laughing again. Honestly, I don't even know why we're laughing. It feels good to laugh with Kim again.

That feeling of ease is gone far too soon, and we walk the rest of the way to school in stony silence. The second we get within ten feet of the front doors, Kim takes off without even saying goodbye. That's when I realize that Kim and I just walked to school together for the first time since two years ago. It's also when I realize how much I missed having her as my friend. I need to do something about the awkwardness between us fast- but what can I do?

**I realize, again, that this chapter is short, and I apologize for that. I'm just really busy, but I want to update for you guys so I figure short is better than nothing. Hope you enjoyed it anyways. Please review and I will do my very best to get a longer chapter up for you guys soon.**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	12. Shawn's Revenge

**Haha, many of you thought Shawn was going to play a prank on Kim. Not quite. He's going to do something a little meaner… Hope you enjoy! The credit for this idea goes to sweetsos209. I tweaked it a bit, hope you don't mind. Thanks a million for the awesome idea!**

**Kim's POV**

I want to get away from the awkwardness, so I run all the way to biology class. It's a miracle I don't get told off for it- I'm notorious for running in the halls. What can I say; I'm not a walking sort of person.

Halfway there, I realize I didn't even say goodbye to Jack. When I get to bio class, the door's not even open yet, so I sit down right outside and take out a novel, then I realize that I forgot to go to my locker.

I don't really want to lug all my stuff all the way to the other side of the school, since I'm just that lazy, so I take out my black messenger bag and put my textbook, novel, binder, notebook, pencil case, phone, and lip gloss inside. I put the messenger bag by the door of my bio class, then start walking to my locker.

**Shawn's POV**

From the shadows, I watch Kim leave a black bag beside the door, then turn around and walk away carrying her backpack. Her phone must be in there. An idea pops into my head.

I wait until she rounds the corner, then I step out of my hiding place and glance around. The corridor is deserted. I walk over to the door and unzip her bag. I look through it for her sparkly teal phone, and finally, I find it.

I pick it up and unlock it. It doesn't ask for a passcode. Seriously, Kim?

I open her text messaging app and see that Jack's name is under her favorites. This is way too easy, especially for an experienced hacker like me. I quickly type out four well-thought out text messages to him and sign them with –Kimmy.

Then just for fun, I go to settings and set a new passcode for Kim. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. It's probably going to take her a while to find out, and when she figures it out, she's going to feel so dumb. This is going to be hilarious. I put her phone back in the bag, rearrange her stuff, then zip her bag up and walk away. If I'm lucky, she won't even notice a thing.

**Kim's POV**

As I walk back to bio from my locker, I see Shawn disappear around the corner down the hallway. What's he doing here? Fear flashes into my mind. Did he take something from my bag? Maybe he took my phone! After all, there was no one here, and he probably wants revenge on me for Friday.

I sure hope he didn't take my phone. There's no passcode set on it. He'd be able to do anything he wanted- call the police, use up all my minutes and make me pay hundreds of dollars, or send rude messages to my friends. If Shawn gets his hands on my phone, it will be a disaster.

I run over to my bag and gingerly unzip it. Who knows, he might have set a trap in it or something. Excuse me for being paranoid, but he definitely has something against me now, and I wouldn't put it past him.

Dumping it on the floor, I look through all the contents. Everything's there, and my homework hasn't been tampered with. I sigh in relief and put everything back into my bag, then sit back down on the ground.

Then, I see Grace walking up to me with her matching white messenger bag. We both bought our new bags from the mall yesterday- they were even a good deal, only ten dollars each!

"Hey, Kim!" She says.

"Hi", I reply.

"Did I tell you how I promised Jerry a kiss?" She sits down beside me.

"You did WHAT now!?" I say, surprised. Why on earth would Grace do that?

"I promised Jerry a kiss. You know, in exchange for the insider info on the pranks? Well, he wants it today."

"Oh. You did that so I could get information? You really shouldn't have, Grace. I owe you big-time." I say.

"No biggie, I don't really mind." Grace laughs.

"But seriously, thanks so much. That info was pretty much priceless. If I had no info, there would've been no prank, not to mention no plan to avoid Shawn's prank."

"Well, what are friends for?" She reaches over and gives me a hug. I hug her back.

"Who knows, you might actually enjoy it!" I tease her. She punches me in the arm, then gets this look on her face.

"Maybe I will, Kim. Maybe I will." She says.

"It sounds like someone likes Jerry Martinez!" I laugh.

"So what if I do?" Grace asks, blushing. "It's not like he would ever like me back. I'm not even pretty."

"Don't you dare say that about yourself, Grace. You're one of the most beautiful people I know. Stop putting yourself down. Jerry has every reason to like you."

**Jack's POV**

My phone buzzes, but I ignore it. I'm a little busy worrying about Kim. I know for a fact that Shawn's going to take his revenge on her, but the problem is I don't know what he's planning.

I wish I did, because it'd be easier to protect her that way. Yes, that's right, I want to protect Kim. Wasn't that the reason I helped her with the prank in the first place? I refuse to let Shawn hurt her.

As long as I'm around, you won't get to Kim. I won't let you. I'm watching you, Shawn.

**Shawn's POV**

Ha, this is definitely my most brilliant scheme yet, if I don't say so myself. It's pretty obvious to me that Jack wants to protect Kim. After all, he did help her with the prank, and as far as I know he has nothing against me. It's the only explanation.

Nothing can possibly hurt Kim more than what I did. At least, not anything else that I could cook up. When Jack finds out the whole story, he's going to be hurt as well. It's the perfect recipe for revenge.

He can try to protect her all he wants, but in the end, it's going to be completely useless. He can try all he wants, but in the end, it's what he doesn't know that will be his downfall. After all, Jack may be a 3rd degree black belt in Karate, but there is one thing he won't be able to protect Kim from- himself.

**Jack's POV (Lunch)**

I take out my phone, remembering my missed text messages from earlier. Four text messages from Kim pop up. Huh.

**MWAHAHA cliffy! Do any of you guys have any ideas for rude/mean etc. text messages that 'Kim' sent Jack? Please review. I hope you all enjoyed the sort-of longer chapter haha and thanks for reading. Love you all!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	13. The Text Messages

**Hi! Wrote another chapter while bored in math class hehe. The credit for what's in the text messages goes to kickerfromfaraway, and a shoutout goes out to LeoliviaKickFan (Guest) for correctly guessing what's going to be in the texts. Love you all! On to the story…**

** Previously on The Story of Us…**

**Jack's POV (Lunch)**

I take out my phone, remembering my missed text messages from earlier. Four text messages from Kim pop up. Huh.

* * *

**Still Jack's POV**

I tap on the first message and gasp. Well, this is completely unexpected.

_ I hate you, Jack Brewer. –Kimmy_

I sit there, dumbfounded, then remember there's three more text messages. If they all read the same thing, I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't really want to find out what they say, but out of curiousity I tap on the next one.

_ Why, you ask? Well, first of all, your hair's stupid and ugly. Second, you're a selfish jerk. You only care about yourself. –Kimmy_

Oh, did she just go there? No one, and I mean no one, insults the hair. I tap on the next message.

_ I thought we were friends, but clearly, you've changed. I don't know you anymore, Jack. –Kimmy_

Oh, I'm the one who changed? I have never seen this side of Kim before. I don't know what's gotten into her. I open the last message.

_Stay away from me, Jack. Don't even try to come near me, or I promise you'll regret it. Don't talk to me, don't message me, don't look at me. I don't ever want to hear from you again. –Kimmy_

What? Okay, honestly, I don't know what I did to her. I have no idea why she's telling me she hates me and calling my hair ugly. I mean, insult me, but not the hair! That girl sure knows how to get me mad.

I thought we were on our way to becoming friends again, but clearly I was wrong. Girls are just so confusing. This morning, we were laughing together, and now she hates me and I've hardly seen her all day.

I look around the cafeteria, then remember she's not here. Just before lunch, she told me she wanted some alone time and went to eat on the grass outside the front doors. Putting my phone down, I stand up and leave the cafeteria.

** Meanwhile.. (Kim's POV)**

I take a bite of my sandwich and unlock my phone to text Grace. I slide my thumb across the screen, then pause. 'Please Enter Your Passcode', the screen reads. Is this my phone?

I turn it over and inspect the case. Yep, teal rubber casing with silver rhinestones in the corner? Unmistakably mine. But why is it asking for a passcode? There's only one explanation for this.

Shawn got into my bag this morning, for sure. Well, Shawn, a little passcode isn't going to stop me. I quickly try a few combinations of numbers. Okay, this is going to be harder than I expected, but at least my phone doesn't self-destruct after five failed passcodes or anything like that.

Five minutes of random combinations later, I decide to go simple. 1, 2, 3, 4. Passcode denied. Argh! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Passcode denied. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Passcode accepted. GAH! It's always the last thing that I try! How could I not have gotten that on the first try! Talk about simplest passcode ever!

I throw my phone at a bush, then realize what I just did and run to the bush. I hope it's not broken…

** Shawn's POV**

I can't believe it. This is just getting easier and easier. It's like Jack and Kim are trying to help me get revenge on them. Gleefully, I walk up to Jack's abandoned phone and unlock it. 'Please Enter Your Passcode', the screen reads. I try 0177. Jack's favorite number. 'Passcode Accepted.' Like I said, seriously too easy.

Just like this morning, I type out a few texts to Kim and am on my third when I glance up and see Bryden walking towards me.

"Hey, Shawn! What are you doing, man?" He pauses, noticing the phone in my hands. "Isn't that Jack's phone?" Uh oh, busted. Whatever, I can weasel my way out of this one. It's Bryden, after all. Not the brightest crayon in the box.

"What? Oh, this? Yeah, I just found this on the table." I say. Bryden looks at me suspiciously.

"Why does it look like you're texting, then?" He questions me.

"Oh, I was just going through it to see who it belongs to. It's Jack's, as it turns out. Can you please give it back to him for me?" I ask.

"Why can't you do it?" Again with the questioning. This isn't like Bryden. Bryden usually just does as he's told- that's why I like him.

"Bry, just do it."

"No." Bryden says. "This isn't how you should treat your friends. Friends aren't for doing errands. Jack is your friend, look at how you're treating him. I'm your friend, look at how you treat me. I've half a mind to walk out on you, bro."

"What? How am I treating Jack badly?"

"For starters, you're texting someone on his phone. Knowing you, it's probably to get revenge for what happened on Friday. I know you think I'm dumb, but, guess what, Shawn? You underestimate me, just as you underestimate everyone else." Bryden says, raising his voice. I can tell he's really angry now, and I've barely said a thing to him.

"Pssh. What? No!" I say. My lying is getting worse by the second, What's wrong with me?

"Shawn, honestly, I thought you were a good guy at first. When you started getting into some meaner stuff, I stuck with you because you're my best friend. But I'm drawing the line here. I know what you're doing, Shawn, and I don't like it. It's not right to make people hate each other."

"Honestly, Bry," I mimic him, "I thought you were on my side."

"Well, if being on your side means doing your dirty work and bullying others, I'm out. Sorry, Shawn, but I'm sick and tired of being treated like your personal slave. It's high time I take a stand, so that's just what I'm going to do. Bye, Shawn." Bryden walks away from me. He can't be doing this! Bryden's my minion! What am I going to do without him?

"Wait, Bry, don't go! Come back, please!" I call after him, pathetically. He stops but doesn't turn around.

"Shawn, I've given you far more than your fair share of second chances. It's time for you to deal with your own problems. Like I said earlier, I'm out." And with that, the last friend I have left walks away from me without a backwards glance.

What do I do now? I sit down and rest my head in my hands. I lost Milton, Eddie and Jerry when they heard what I had been planning to do to Kim, and now Bry's gone too. I've always been able to rely on him to get anything done. I don't know what I'm going to do without him.

Well, I'm all alone now. Gotta deal with it, I guess. Sure, I'm going to miss having those guys around to laugh with, but, honestly? I, Shawn, don't need friends. I'm strong and smart enough on my own. I can get through this.

I glance back down at the phone in my hands and decide not to send any more messages. I leave it on the table in the exact same position, then walk away. Maybe Bryden was right in leaving. After all, I haven't exactly been the best friend I could be. But then again, who needs friends?

**Kim's POV**

My phone buzzes twice. I put my sandwich aside and pick it up. I'm so glad that it wasn't broken earlier; I totally lost my temper. I still can't believe I threw my phone.

I unlock it and check my texts. Two texts from Jack. I tap on the first.

_Kim, I hate you. I don't know why you did what you did, but I hope you get what you deserve. You're still a dumb, useless blonde and an airhead. I don't even know why I thought you changed. It's clear you haven't. –Jack_

What? What? Just, what? What did I do? Why does he hate me? And how dare he call me a useless blonde and an airhead? He of all people should know that I hate, hate, hate being called that stupid stereotype! The next text is almost worse.

_I don't ever want to talk to you again. Stay away from me, blondie, or you'll regret it.—Jack_

I put my phone down and just stare at the front doors, in shock. How.. why… what? I'm really confused. Tears are forming at the corners of my eyes. Jack hates me. But why?

This is just.. out of the blue. I don't even know what I did to deserve this. It's just.. bizarre. I keep on thinking I imagined the messages, but then I look back at my phone and the tears just come back. I angrily wipe them away with the back of my hand, and chastise myself.

How dare you cry over someone that calls you a dumb blonde, Kim Crawford? He's totally not worth it. He's just a stupid, arrogant… The thought dies the second I see said stupid, arrogant boy walk through the front doors. He makes a beeline for me, and I wipe the last of the tears away and stand up angrily.

Then, I see Shawn disappear behind a tree. What..? Is he spying on me? But then I see Jack again, and decide Shawn's unimportant. Jack came to find Kim Crawford? Well, he's going to get what he deserves, then. No one disses Kim Crawford. No one.

**WHOO! Just wrote you guys a super long chapter with no pauses. My hands are literally sore right now from all the typing. I hope the Shawn/Bryden part helped you sympathize with Shawn a bit. After all, everyone has their reasons for doing things, and by seeing how broken he is, I hope you sort of understand his motives more, if that makes any sense. Hope you enjoyed and please review! Love you all!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	14. Another Argument

**Wow, you guys are seriously so awesome. Thank you all so much for the reviews! This chapter goes out to everyone who reviewed for the last chapter- I love you all so much! I hope you guys don't mind that this one is slightly less polished, since I had less time to edit and revise. I hope you enjoy it anyways, though!**

**Shawn's POV**

From behind a tree, I watch Jack walk up to Kim. I can't let them talk to each other! They're going to figure out what I did! I need a plan. I look around, but before I can think of anything, Jack says something to Kim, and it's too late. I decide to just watch and see what will happen. With my luck today, they won't have a clue what I did.

**Kim's POV**

As soon as Jack gets within five feet of me, I stand up and he stops walking.

"How dare you call my hair ugly. Insult me, but leave my hair alone!" He says angrily. When did I call his hair ugly?

"What? I insulted your hair? You know I hate being stereotyped! I thought you learned long ago not to call me a dumb blonde! You-"

He cuts me off. "I didn't call you a dumb blonde! You said you hated me, and to stay away from you. I just want to know what I did to you to deserve those insults." He says, a little calmer. I'm not buying it.

"I told you I hated you? You've got it wrong. You told me you hated me. I didn't even do anything to you! I want answers!"

"Well, if all you're going to do is yell and insult me, then maybe I should do what you asked me to and stay away from you." I have no idea what he's talking about, but I'm still mad.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" We say in unison, and with that, Jack walks away. Déjà vu, much? Are we seriously gonna end all our arguments this way?

"Well, you get your wish. You won't be hearing from me again for a very long time, I can promise you that." I call after him. He shows no sign of having heard me, except that he walks faster. Pulling my phone out, I promptly delete his name from my contacts. I won't need his phone number for a very long time.

**Shawn's POV**

YES! MY PLAN WORKED! I had nothing to worry about, nothing at all! Kim and Jack fought like a married couple, only worse. Brilliant, if I do say so myself. They were so mad at each other, they didn't figure out a single thing.

Shame, Jack. Shame, Kim. You disappoint me once again. I honestly thought you were going to figure it out, but you let your anger get in the way.

I watch Jack storm away, with a smile on my face. Kim sinks onto the ground and puts her face in her hands. Revenge is sweet.

**Jack's POV**

I run through the hallways, keeping my head down. Luckily, I hardly see anyone. I run and run, until I arrive at a small indoor garden with a few benches- my personal paradise whenever I'm upset. It's deserted, as usual. I don't understand why no one ever comes here, it's a beautiful place, even with a skylight and all.

Oh well, not gonna question my luck. After all, if it wasn't deserted, I wouldn't have anywhere to cry when I need to.

I sit down on a bench, and the tears just start coming. I try to forget what Kim said to me, because what she said and those texts hurt me way more than should be allowed.

I was hardly listening to her during our argument, so it's easy to forget what she said, but the texts are burned into my mind. I repeat her words over and over again in my mind. I can't stop myself, they won't quit repeating.

Kim hates me. Kim hates me. Kim hates me. But what I don't understand is, why? I really shouldn't have yelled at her, because she looked really upset too. She's not the one that should be upset, though. As far as I know, no one told her they hated her today. After all, who could hate Kim Crawford? She's, well, Kim!

**Bryden's POV**

I see Jack run by, with his head down.

"Jack!" I call. He doesn't answer, just keeps on running. I know where he's going. I follow him, but he doesn't even notice me.

I watch from behind a plant as he sits down on a bench. I can tell he's trying not to cry, but the tears are just coming and coming, and he can't stop them no matter how much he wipes his eyes. I briefly consider revealing myself and comfort him, but decide against it. After all, he still thinks I'm on Shawn's side, and he's mad at Shawn.

I decide to give Jack his privacy, and so I turn around and quietly begin walking down the hallway. I look back at Jack, just to make sure he's okay, then I feel a hand on my shoulder. I promptly whirl around.

"Shawn! What do you want?" I whisper and glare at him. "Don't even try to tell me that you're not the reason he's crying."

"Why not?" Shawn grins, clearly baiting me.

"Don't. Just don't." I take a step away from him.

"What? Are you threatening me? Look at what I did to Jack, just for helping Kim pull a prank on me. I will do what I want. You can't stop me. With just a few texts, I was able to make Jack and Kim hate each other. What more could I do to you, someone I know so well?" I gulp, then remember I'm not supposed to be afraid of him.

"I'm not scared of you, Shawn. Just leave Jack and Kim alone. You've done enough to them." I turn my back on him.

"You'll regret leaving my side, Bryden. Trust me, you will." I turn around again, about to tell him that nothing he does to me will make me regret not helping hurt people, but he's disappeared into thin air. I look back at Jack, still crying, and walk away before he notices me. He deserves his privacy, and I'm not going to take that away from him.

**Grace's POV**

I walk into the bathroom holding a hairbrush. My hair is a mess, and since I broke the mirror in my locker, I've had to come here twice as much just so I can fix it. Yes, I broke a mirror. No, I do not have bad luck.

I hear sobbing, and turn around. It's Kim! Why is she crying? I rush over to her.

"Kim! What happened?" She looks up at me with puffy eyes, tears streaming down her face.

"Look, Grace." She holds her phone out at me and continues to cry. I read the texts and gasp. No one's allowed to insult Kim like that, especially over text message. The insensitive jerk!

"No! He actually said that?" I'm having trouble believing Jack said that to Kim. He seemed nice enough, last I checked. I honestly thought he had changed since sixth grade, but looks like I was wrong.

"Yeah." Kim sniffles. "I don't know what I did. I've hardly seen him all day."

"Well, why don't you go ask him? The worst that will happen is you hear the same things he's already said to you." I say.

"I don't think I can handle hearing them again. Once already hurt me enough." Kim whispers.

"I could ask him for you." I offer.

"Thanks, but don't." She offers no explanation why.

"You sure?" I ask.

"Yeah." She wipes more tears away, still sniffling. I feel a flash of anger. I'm going to go yell at the jerk named Jack who did this to her. I stand up.

"Grace, where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go give that jerk a piece of my mind."

"No, don't, please!" Kim begs. "It'll only make things worse."

"Okay, fine." I say, sitting back down. Kim sighs, then remembers something. Her face lights up.

"Hey, did Jerry kiss you yet?"

"Yeah", I say, blushing. "Just fifteen minutes ago."

Kim squeals. "No way! Spill, girl. I want to hear everything."

"You serious about that?"

"Duh! I mean like, is he any good?"

"Umm, yeah." I blush again. "Really good."

I keep Kim busy with the details of the kiss, and once her tears are all gone, Kim and I walk back to our locker. The whole way, I laugh at Kim's reactions to some of the things I tell her. I can tell she's feeling much better now. I hope she'll be okay. With luck, this'll all blow over in a week.

**So.. what did you think? Review, please! Thanks for reading!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	15. More Confusion

**Hi again! Thanks to everyone who reviewed- I'm at 135 reviews now. It's totally amazing! Hope you enjoy this longer ish chapter! Sorry if you get confused because of the many POV switches and time skips. I hope it's not too confusing.**

**Two days later (Wednesday).. Kim's POV**

It's been two days since Jack and I fought. I keep on forgetting we're angry at each other. Just this morning, I pulled out my phone to text him and ask if he wanted to walk to school together, then, I remembered I was mad at him and deleted the text right before I pressed send.

I want so badly to talk to Jack and to laugh with him. We were on our way to becoming friends again, then out of the blue he told me he hated me. After nearly 48 hours, I'm still just as confused as I was on Monday. Nothing he said during that fight made any sense at all.

I'm dying to know, is it killing him like it's killing me? Every time I see him, I want to say sorry to him for yelling at him, but I can't quite find it in myself to talk to someone who's mad at me. Grace says that I'm better off without him, anyways, but I don't think so.

I want to apologize to him, I just don't know how. I've gotta figure something out, and fast.

**One day after that (Thursday) Jack's POV**

I keep on seeing Kim around, but it seems like she's doing her best to avoid me. Every time I walk past her, she just keeps her head down and pretends I'm not there.

The only person I've seen her talk to since Monday is Grace, who glares daggers at me every time she sees me looking.

This morning, while I was walking down a crowded hallway heading to class, I caught Kim's eye. She didn't look away, just looked at me with those hurt, beautiful brown eyes. It took everything in me to look away from her and not walk over there and tell her I was sorry.

Yeah, I'm still mad at her. What I don't get is why she seems so hurt- after all, she's the one who insulted my hair and said she hated me. All I did was yell at her. Or, maybe, those texts were a joke or something. I doubt it, though.

I would apologize to her and find out what's wrong, I just can't talk to her. No, it's not that I'm afraid to, it's that I actually can't. Every time I walk towards her, she either walks away with her head down, or when Grace is there, she gets pulled away by a glaring Grace. Either way, I don't follow her because she's obviously leaving for a reason. Me.

I wish I could figure out a way to get her to talk to me. All I want to know is why she hates me, and I even want to say sorry to her for yelling at her, because she seemed pretty upset about that. I just need to convince her to talk to me, but how?

**Same day- Kim's POV**

I keep seeing Jack out of the corner of my eye, walking towards me. I don't really want to talk to him, because I'm scared of what I might say to him. I want to tell him I miss him, but I don't know how, and I want to ask him why he hates me, but I'm scared that'll make him hate me more.

But when he caught my eye this morning, it wasn't hatred I saw in his eyes. It was.. sorrow, and hurt. But why? I never did a single thing to him. It just doesn't make any sense. I think I'm more confused than Jerry right now.

**One week later (Thursday again).. Jack's POV **

I'm starting to think that this feels just like the last time we fought. I need to make this right before the awkwardness and silence get worse, because then, it'll be too late.

The one problem being that she's still avoiding me, of course. If she wasn't, it would be so much easier to try to apologize to her. But since she is, I need to find a way to convince her to talk to me.

Maybe… maybe I can ask Grace what I did to Kim. It could work, but I'm pretty sure Grace is still pretty hostile towards me. No, not just pretty sure, definitely sure. I can't even get within ten feet of Kim without being hit by the famous Grace glare.

If I can approach Grace and ask her what I did to Kim to make her hate me, maybe I'll have a better idea of how to make things better with Kim. It's at least worth a shot.

**Milton's POV**

Jerry, Bryden and I are sitting together at lunch. Our table is strangely empty today, without Jack, Shawn and Eddie. Shawn isn't here because Shawn and Bryden had a fight, and I have no idea where Jack has been for the past few days. I'm a little worried about him, but I don't say anything.

The bell rings, and Bryden rushes away because his class is at the other end of the school. He waves a hurried goodbye over his shoulder as he jogs away.

A grey rectangular object clatters to the floor from Bryden's bag. He doesn't notice, he just disappears around the corner. I walk over and pick it up. It's an old-school tape recorder. I wonder why Bryden carries this around.

I look around for Jerry and sigh. He's flirting with yet another girl. I look back at the tape recorder in my hand, then slide it into my pocket. I think something weird's going on with Bryden and Shawn, and I plan on figuring out what it is.

**Meanwhile.. Jack's POV**

I see Grace at her locker without Kim. This is the perfect chance to find out what's up with Kim.

"Hi, Grace." I say. She turns around.

"Brewer." She growls. "What do you want?"

"Hey, hey, hey" I say, holding my hands up. "I just want to talk." Wow, that came out cheesier than I thought it would. It sounded sort of like a cop's line in a movie…

"Well, talk!" Grace slams her locker shut.

"Chill, Grace."

"No!"

"Okay, fine. I just want to know why Kim hates me. And what I did to deserve it." I say, spreading my hands out.

"Are you kidding me? What you did to deserve it?" She says. I stare at her blankly. "Don't play dumb with me, Brewer. You know exactly what you did. And for the record, Kim doesn't hate you. I'm not saying you don't deserve to be hated, I'm saying that she has a soft heart. "

"Wait a second. What?" I say. Grace rolls her eyes.

"I said," Grace repeats slowly, "That Kim doesn't hate you, even though she should."

"But then what was that text message about?"

"What text message? The only text message I know is the one you sent Kim, and as far as I know she never sent one back." Grace says, her brow furrowed.

"What!? I sent Kim a text message!? She sent me a text message! You've got it all wrong, Grace."

"Umm.. No. YOU sent HER a text message."

"No, I didn't."

"Well then, who did? It's not as if she knows another Jack Brewer with the exact same phone number as you."

"Wait.. did you say I sent her a text message?"

"Yeah, weren't you listening to me?"

I unlock my phone and go to sent messages. I scroll down until I find Kim's name, then gasp. What…?

** Sorry about the cliffy! It gives me time to think about what I'm gonna write. Please review and thanks for reading! I'll post the next chapter when I get at least.. hmm… 12 reviews.**

**Also, if you're looking for a great fanfic to read, go check out MusicMusicMusic's story Fate Brings Us Together, coauthored with IfSacraficesWereEasy. It's a great story! **

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	16. Grace and Jack Figure It Out

**Well, I got my 12 reviews, so I wrote another chapter for you guys! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Love you all so much, and hope you enjoy!**

**Previously on The Story of Us… Jack's POV**

"Wait.. did you say I sent her a text message?"

"Yeah, weren't you listening to me?"

I unlock my phone and go to sent messages. I scroll down until I find Kim's name, then gasp. What…?

* * *

**Still Jack's POV**

"Two messages sent to Kim Crawford, 12:18 AM two Mondays ago." I read out loud.

"See?" Grace smirks. "I told you so."

"But I didn't have my phone then! I left it on the cafeteria table…" I say. I open the messages and read them to myself. My eyes go wide.

_Kim, I hate you. I don't know why you did what you did, but I hope you get what you deserve. You're still a dumb, useless blonde and an airhead. I don't even know why I thought you changed. It's clear you haven't. –Jack_

_I don't ever want to talk to you again. Stay away from me, blondie, or you'll regret it.—Jack_

I re-read them over and over again, unable to comprehend what I'm seeing. I would never in a million years say something like this to anyone, much less Kim!

I'm positively sure I didn't send these to Kim- for goodness sake, I never sign my texts with –Jack, anyways! Takes too long to type. I glance up at Grace, who's watching me.

"I didn't send these, I swear! I didn't even know these were there." I say. "This wasn't me."

"Don't play dumb with me, Brewer. The messages were from your phone, it's obvious it was you. Besides, who leaves their phone on a cafeteria table, anyways?"

"I did! I forgot it! And just because they were sent from my number doesn't mean I sent them!" I retort sharply.

"What are you suggesting, Brewer? That someone stole your phone and texted Kim hateful messages? I don't think so!"

"Grace, don't you think that if I actually hated Kim that I would be telling you I didn't send those messages? Don't you think that if I sent those messages, I would take credit for it?"

"I don't know! All I know is that you hurt my best friend and you're going to pay for it."

"I just told you, I didn't send those messages?"

"Then who did?"

"I don't know! All I know is that after I saw Kim's texts, I left the cafeteria to go talk to her."

"You mean yell." Grace interrupts me.

"Yeah, I really didn't mean to do that, but it was hard when she was yelling at me. For the record, she did yell at me first. Anyways, after I saw Kim's texts, I was so mad and hurt I just slammed my phone down on the table and walked away. I did not send her a single message."

"Wait, wait, wait. Did you say she sent you a text message?" Grace asks.

"She sent me four texts." I say. Grace's expression quickly turns confused.

"I talked to Kim last Monday, and she swore that she didn't text you all day. Not one single text." Grace says. "So either she was lying, or those messages weren't from her."

"And we both know Kim can't lie…" I say.

"Yeah." Grace agrees. "Hey, can I see the texts she sent you?"

"Sure." I reply. I go back to received texts and scroll back to Monday. Aha! I hand the phone to Grace, who reads the messages and hands the phone back to me.

"I can't believe you fell for that." She says. "Kim absolutely detests being called Kimmy, so why would she sign her texts with –Kimmy?"

I look at the texts, and Grace raises her eyebrows.

"I guess I was a little too busy being mad at her." I say.

"Well, I think it's pretty obvious that Kim didn't send you those texts."

"And I'm sure that I didn't send Kim any texts." I say.

"So then…"

"Who did?" Grace finishes my thought. "It has to be someone who's mad at both you and Kim, and who's clever enough to do this."

"But who is?" I muse. Then, it hits me, and I gasp.

"Shawn.." I growl, at the same time as Grace says, "It's gotta be Shawn."

Just then, the bell rings shrilly, making me jump.

"Oh, gotta go. I've got chem with Kim." Grace says, walking away.

"Can you guys meet me at the front doors 10 minutes after school ends?" I call after her.

"Sure!" Grace yells over her shoulder, then walks around the corner, leaving me all alone with my thoughts as I walk to my own locker. I take my time, since I've got a free block- the sweet benefits of taking summer classes.

How could I fall for another one of Shawn's tricks? His devious plans have gotten me many times in the past, but none have hurt as much as this one. I was supposed to be protecting Kim from Shawn, but I ended up hurting her because of Shawn's stupid texts. How could I have been so stupid?

"Argh!" I yell in frustration, and kick the wall. It doesn't hurt at all- no surprise there.

I'm so mad at myself. I vowed to protect Kim, but look what I did! I ended up hurting her, instead. What kind of a friend am I?

More importantly, how could I have been so stupid? Of course Kim never signs her texts with Kimmy. How could I not have noticed that? And why did I get so angry at her? I really shouldn't have yelled at her, even though she yelled at me.

I sure hope Kim forgives me when she finds out. I don't know what I'll do with myself if she doesn't.

**Kim's POV**

Grace walks in through the door, five minutes late. Mrs. Hawkins, the chemistry teacher, doesn't even notice her breezy entrance. Grace takes the seat next to me, of course.

"Grace!" I hiss. "Where were you?" She grins at me.

"You wouldn't believe what I just found out." She says.

"What?"

"I was talking to Jack." She says.

"What!?" I whisper-yell. "Jack, as in Jack Brewer?"

"You know any other Jacks?" I shake my head.

"But why?" I whisper, quieter now.

"Well, he walked up to me and said we needed to talk." She whispers back.

"And?" I prompt.

"Well, long story short," She whispers, but is cut off but Mrs. Hawkins.

"Girls, do you have something to share?" She glares at Grace and I. We both shake our heads. "Then save the chitchat for later, okay?" She says and turns back to the board.

Grace mouths, 'later' at me, and I nod. For the rest of the class, I imagine what happened. Maybe.. maybe she got Jack to stop hating me! Or maybe it was something else. Maybe it had something to do with Jerry- that would make perfect sense, since she's so happy.

I sigh and doodle random faces all over my notebook. I wish Grace could tell me now.

**So.. what do you think? Please review- I'll update when I get at least 15 reviews- I know, I'm evil. XD Hope you enjoyed and love you all!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	17. Will You Forgive Me?

**Haha thanks for the reviews, everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Still Kim's POV**

The bell rings just as Mrs. Hawkins is assigning us homework. Before Grace can get up, I look at her. "Long story short….?" I say.

"So, basically I got all mad at Jack and we got into an argument, then he showed me the "texts" that you sent him." Grace says.

"But I didn't text him anything." I say, not getting it.

Grace snaps her fingers. "Exactly. So as it turns out, he received four texts from you right before you got the texts from him. And get this, they were from your number, but signed with Kimmy."

"What!"

"I know, right! And then, he said that he didn't send you any texts, and then we figured out who did. Shawn. So now, Jack wants us to meet him at the front door after school ends. What for, I don't know."

"Wait, wait, wait. I didn't get a single word of that. Your long story's too short. Care to explain more?"

Grace sighs and tells me the whole story as we walk to the last period of the day. I listen to her disbelievingly- I'm surprised she didn't punch Jack in the face when he approached her!

**Just after the final bell.. still Kim's POV**

Grace and I walk out of last period together. I love Thursdays because I have every single class with Grace, so I get to spend more time with her than usual. It's hard, having a best friend who's so busy.

As we walk to our locker, Grace turns around and walks backwards in front of me. No one knows why she loves doing that so much, not even Grace herself. I guess it's just a Grace thing.

"So, Jack wants you to meet him at the front doors in," She checks her purple watch. "Nine minutes and counting."

"Wait- I thought you were coming with me? Isn't that what you said? You said he told you to come with me to the front doors!" I say.

"Yeah, that's what I was supposed to do. But…" Grace draws the word out. "I'm sort of.. going on an.. outing! An outing with.. someone." She gets a little, silly grin on her face and that's when I know it's not just anyone, and it's not an outing.

"Grace, are you going on a date with Jerry?"

"Pssh. No!" Grace looks down at the ground, then back up at me. "Okay, fine. Yes."

I squeal. "This is so exciting! Where are you going?" People turn to look at us.

"Kim!" Grace says. "Not so loud!"

"Sorry. But seriously! Where are you going?" I say, quieter this time.

"I don't know."

"Why not?"

"Jerry says it's a surprise." She gets this dreamy look in her eyes. I raise my eyebrows at her, and she blushes.

"Oooh… someone has a crush!" I laugh. Grace pushes me.

We get our stuff from our locker, still talking.

"Promise you'll tell me all about it?" I ask her.

"Umm duh! It's going to be great." She giggles. Wow, Grace is giggling. That's a first. "Hey, promise you'll be nice to Jack, okay? I know you're still mad at him, but you've gotta realize that even though those messages hurt you, he wasn't the one who sent them." That sounds more like the Grace I know.

"Yeah, I promise. Hey, since when did you stop telling me Jack was bad for me and start making me promise to be nice to him?"

"Since I found out.. no. Since … whatever. It doesn't matter."

"Graceee…" I whine. "Tell me please."

"Sorry, I have to go. Gonna be late for my outing. Now, go over there and apologize to Jack." She grins at me, knowing that I know she's only saying that to avoid the question.

"Fine, I will. Have fun!" I wave at her as she walks away.

**Meanwhile.. Jack's POV**

"Dude, dude! You won't believe what happened to me." Jerry runs up to me from where I'm waiting for Kim and Grace. Wow, someone's happy today.

"What happened?" Jerry looks really excited.

"I got a date!" Jerry says. "A really swag one, too."

"Who is it?" I ask.

"Sorry, bro. It's a secret. Gotta go now, I'll see you tomorrow." Jerry grins and dances away. It's nice to see Jerry so happy. He's been pretty quiet for the past few weeks.

I think he's probably just been sad about how Shawn, Bryden, Milton, Eddie, him and I have split apart over the past few weeks. We were super tight, then, well, now we hardly see each other. I know why I'm avoiding Bryden and Shawn, but I've heard Eddie ditched Jerry and Milton recently. It seems like it's all falling apart, you know?

Then, I see a familiar blonde running towards me, a black messenger bag bouncing on her hip.

"Hey, Kim." I say. She catches up to me and we start walking home.

"Hi, Jack."

"Did Grace tell you what we figured out?"

"Yeah, that the texts were actually from Shawn?" I nod. "Oh, and she mentioned that you got some texts from my phone. Is it true?"

"Yeah," I answer. "Kim, listen, I'm really sorry for getting mad at you. I should've known better than to yell at you for just a few text messages. For goodness' sake, I should've known that you didn't send those.

I'm also sorry because I was supposed to protect you from Shawn, and I ended up hurting you instead. I was so stupid to fall for another one of his tricks. Will you please forgive me?" I look at her pleadingly.

"Jack, don't worry about it. I was really mad at you, too, and as for the part where you yelled at me? I yelled at you first. And, I'm sorry I kept on avoiding you. I should have tried to talk to you instead of walking away from you." Kim smiles at me.

"Does that mean you forgive me?" I ask hopefully.

"Yeah, but only if you forgive me." Kim says.

"Of course I forgive you!"

We smile at each other. Then, I reach into my bag and pull something out- an ambrosia apple, Kim's favorite fruit.

"This is for you." I hand her the apple. Her eyes grow wide.

"Is this an ambrosia apple?" She asks

"Yep."

"Jack, it's the middle of winter, how did you find this? I only get this kind of apple in the summer!" She looks up at me, smiling.

"I have my ways." I grin at her. "And besides, anything for you."

"Aww, Jack, that's so sweet of you. Thank you so much."

"Not a problem." I say. She opens her bag and puts the apple in, then notices me watching her.

"I'm saving it for later, when I'm hungry." She smiles.

"Okay."

We arrive at Kim's street.

"Well, this is my street." Kim says. "Thanks for the apple, Jack. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Oh, no problem. See you!"

I watch as she turns and walks away.

"YES! SHE FORGAVE ME!" I yell at the empty street, then realize that Kim probably heard me. An old man is watching me curiously from my front porch. "Sorry." I say to him, then quickly walk home with my head down.

**Kim's POV**

I'm walking down my street when I hear a shout in the distance, "YES! SHE FORGAVE ME!" It sounds like Jack. I laugh to myself. He's so cute.

**Hope you enjoyed and please review! I'll post the next chapter when I get to… 16 reviews. Raising the bar by one XD Love you all!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	18. Friends Again

**Thanks for the reviews, everyone. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Kim's POV, the next morning**

I roll out of bed ten minutes earlier than usual. For some reason, I didn't have trouble sleeping last night like I usually do. I grab my hairbrush and run it through my blonde hair, trying to decide if I'm going to straighten it, curl it, or leave it natural. I check my clock and decide I have enough time to curl it, so I get my iron out and start curling my hair.

Five minutes later, I shut off the iron and go to my closet, picking out a light grey pair of skinny jeans, a layered navy blue and teal tank top, and my grey cardigan.

I pick up a teal wristband and put it on, then pick up my favorite peach-colored lip gloss and apply it along with some mascara. Slipping on the combat boots that I wear almost every day, I head down the stairs for breakfast.

After breakfast, I grab my lunch out of the fridge, then I run upstairs to get my messenger bag and my phone. I say a quick goodbye to my mom and head out the door. It's still a little dark out, which is unusual. The sun is rising behind me as I walk up my street, humming a tune quietly.

When I get close to where my small side-street meets the bigger street, I spot a figure in a blue plaid shirt and black skater jeans with his back to me- Jack. He's looking down at his hands, probably texting someone. Just then, my phone buzzes with a text.

_Hey, Kim, wanna walk to school with me? I'll meet you at the end of your street. –J_

I look at him. He doesn't even see me, and I laugh quietly as I text him back.

_Jack, look behind you. –K_

I continue to walk towards him and watch as he opens my text and turns around. By now, I'm only about ten steps away from him.

"Hey, Kim!" His face breaks into a smile. "So, do you wanna walk with me?"

"Hi, Jack. Sure." We both turn and start walking to school, making small talk the whole way there. Once we reach the doors, I say bye to Jack and walk off to find Grace, leaving him smiling as he walks to his locker.

As I walk up to my locker, I find Grace already there.

"Hi, Grace!" I say. She turns around grinning, and she's holding a single, light pink rose in her hands. "Ooh, someone's happy. How'd the date go last night?"

"It was amazing." She gushes. "Jerry is so sweet. He took me for a picnic in the park, and afterwards we watched the sunset together. Sounds cheesy, I know, but it was just, wow." Grace is practically glowing. She must really like Jerry.

"Wow, I didn't know Jerry had it in him to do that. He doesn't seem like a romantic to me."

"Oh, but he is. This morning, he handed me this rose, then blushed and ran away. It was so cute."

"He must really like you, Grace. And trust me when I say that- I know the kid so well. It makes me really happy to see the two of you together."

We both pick up our books. Grace leaves the rose on our top shelf, lying sideways. There's not very many ways you can keep a rose in a locker, so we just had to work with what we got.

"Grace, you free at lunch today? It is a Friday, you know?"

"Yep. No clubs, no nothing."

"Yes! It seems like it's been forever since we last hung out at lunch."

"I know, right?"

We split up to go to our classes, promising to meet each other at our locker when lunch begins.

**Grace's POV (lunch)**

I walk up to our locker. Kim's already there, rummaging around in her bag. She pulls out a sandwich and makes a face.

"Salami again. I am getting so sick of this." She complains. I get my own lunch, and we start walking. In general, when we hang out at lunch, we tend to roam the school while eating our lunches. I don't even know why we do that or when it started, it just became tradition.

We walk past a group of nerds gathered around a computer, and I reach into my paper bag and take out my lunch.

"Ooh, a chicken wrap. I love these." I say, and bite into my wrap. We turn a corner, entering into what we like to call the rec room. It's really just a few ping-pong, air hockey and foosball tables. Sometimes we wander in here and watch the games going on. This place is never empty at lunch.

For a while, we watch two freshmen play air hockey. It's pretty boring, not really much to see. I'm about to suggest we go somewhere else when Kim says something.

"Hey, Grace, is that Jack?" She points to where lots of kids including Milton, Bryden and Jerry are gathered around a ping-pong table watching a match.

I look over. The long brown hair is unmistakable. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is. Wanna go watch him?"

"Sure." She agrees and we walk over, joining the crowd.

**Jack's POV**

The ball flies to my left, and I hit it back at the senior I'm playing, adding a slight spin to the left as it contacts my paddle. I watch as the ball bounces once, and the senior reaches for it, but misses. The ball bounces to the floor, and the people watching cheer.

I hand my paddle to Jerry, my teammate. We're playing a best of seven match against two seniors for fun, and apparently a lot of people decided they wanted to watch. I walk over to the side of the table, then walk through the small crowd until I have some space to breathe.

Kim walks up to me, Grace right behind her. Kim was watching me? I didn't notice her. Then, Grace notices Jerry. She says something to Kim and Kim nods, then Grace goes back into the crowd, probably to watch Jerry play.

"Hey, Jack. Good job!" Kim smiles.

"Thanks."

"I didn't know you played ping-pong. You're really good at it."

"Thanks, I started a few months ago, and I come here a lot after I eat lunch to play. It sort of takes my mind off of any problems I have, because just like karate, it requires a lot of focus. Have you played before?"

"Yeah, once. I'm not much good at it, though."

"You want me to teach you sometime?"

"Sure." She smiles.

I hear cheering. Jerry's match is probably over.

"I've gotta go back. I think Jerry won. It's probably my turn now."

"Okay, see you later."

** That night**

I open my diary and start writing about everything that happened today. I started keeping a diary last year, and it's become a habit to write in it every night. I write about how Jack and I walked to school together, and how boring math was today, and how Grace got a rose from Jerry, to name a few things.

After I finish, I lie down on my bed and turn out the lights. I drift off to sleep thinking of Jack.

** So, what did you think? I know the ping-pong part was pretty random, but I just felt like writing that. After this chapter, I might do a time-skip a few weeks in advance, but it depends. Hope you enjoyed, and please review!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons **


	19. Two weeks later

**Hi! I'm back with another chapter! Hope you like XD.**

**Two weeks later.. Jack's POV**

I wait for Kim at what's become our normal meeting spot for walking to school. For the past two weeks, ever since we made up, we've been hwalking to and from school together.

It's really awesome to have her as my friend again. Even though she can still be pretty guarded around me, every day she loosens up a little bit more. It's understandable, considering my history for making her cry.

Occasionally, I catch little glimpses of the Kim that used to be my best friend back in middle school. The Kim that was quieter but happier, and much sillier, the girl that I used to know better than the back of my hand.

And even though she's changed a lot since then, what matters is that I'm more comfortable around her than anyone else, even Jerry, who loyally stuck with me through the tough times near the beginning of high school. He's one of my best friends, but he can be a little… clueless sometimes, if you know what I mean. I've always been more comfortable around Kim than anyone else. I don't even know why.

Maybe it has something to do with how we were such close friends for so many years. We pretty much grew up together. She's one of the first people I remember meeting, so even though we didn't know each other for the first five years of our lives, it feels like we grew up together, so that's just what I call it.

Sometimes I wonder what my life would've been like if we hadn't fought. Kim and I would probably be best friends right now, instead of just friends…

A tap on my shoulder jolts me out of my thoughts. I turn around.

"Hey, Jack. Where were you just now?" It's Kim.

"Hi, oh, I've been here the whole time." I say, not really getting what she means. She laughs.

"No, where were you mentally?" She taps her head. "You were thinking about something, I can were you thinking about?"

"Oh, just the math test today. I'm worried it'll be hard." I lie to her. Sure, I feel bad about lying, but what am I supposed to tell her? That I was thinking about her? Nope, better to stick to math tests.

"Right. The math test. I was up, like, half the night studying. I hope it's not too hard, or else I'm dead."

"Me too."

The rest of the walk to school, we laugh and talk. When we get to school, we agree to go to our lockers and meet at our math classroom, because we have first period together today.

** Kim's POV**

I walk away from Jack to my locker, and glance over my shoulder. He's watching me and smiling. I smile back, then walk around the corner. When I get to my locker, I find Jerry kissing Grace right in front of it.

"Hey, Grace. Hey, Jerry. Get a room, you two." Grace breaks the kiss and glares at me. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?" I smirk.

"I gotta go now, Gracie. See you later!" Jerry walks backwards away from us, a goofy smile on his face. Ever since Grace and Jerry officially became boyfriend and girlfriend last week, I've hardly seen them without each other. It's nice to see Grace so happy. She's like, literally glowing nowadays.

"He's the sweetest guy on the entire planet." Grace gushes as she grabs her books and I grab mine. She heads off for her first class, waving goodbye at me, and I head for math to meet Jack.

When I get there, I notice that he's saved me a seat at the back of the classroom, where he usually sits. I smile graciously and sit down. I'm about to say something to him when our math teacher, Mr. C walks into the classroom. We call him Mr. C because no one knows, let alone can pronounce, his full last name. Rumor has it it's something like 20 letters long. But then again, who believes rumors, anyways?

Wordlessly, Mr. C hands out the tests. I flip through all five pages of it and sigh. I glance at Jack, who's staring at his page worriedly. I give him a reassuring smile, and the worried look disappears from his face.

Mr. C takes his usual place standing at the front of the classroom, and the noise in the classroom dies down. It's obvious we're supposed to start the test. He never gives explanations, and no one knows why. Picking up my favorite pink and blue mechanical pencil, I start the test.

**One hour later….**

Jack and I walk out of math together.

"That test was actually pretty easy. What did you get for number 22?" Jack asks me.

"Yeah, I know, right? I think I got 43+23. Not really sure, though." I reply. We discuss test answers for a little more, then the PA crackles to life from the speakers overhead.

"Would Kimberly Crawford please report to the office? Kimberly Crawford to the office, please." The voice of our school's secretary says.

"Uh oh. I hope I'm not in trouble. I guess I'd better go, so see you later!" I say to Jack.

"Bye." He says as I walk away, fighting my way through the crowded hall.

I finally walk up to the glass doors of the office. I walk through and my counselor, just-call-me-Stacey, walks up to me. Phew, I don't think I'm in trouble.

"Hey, Kim! Come on in." She says, beckoning me into her office. Okay… I'm pretty sure I didn't get called to the office just for an impromptu counseling session. This is a little weird. I follow her in, and she closes the door behind me.

Her office looks just like it always does- white lace curtains fluttering in the breeze coming in from her open window, and her desk neatly organized as usual.

"Kim, you're probably wondering why you're here." I nod. "Well, since you know this school pretty well, and most of our usual new student guides are absent or busy with important classes today, I was wondering if you could act as a new student guide today."

"Sure, I'd be happy to." I say, smiling. "Who am I gonna show around?"

Just then, the door opens. "I'm back, Stacey." A blond boy about the same height as me walks into the room and takes a seat on one of just-call-me-Stacey's pale blue chairs. Hm, he looks pretty familiar. I feel like I know him.

"Kimberly, this is Jonathan. Jonathan, this is Kimberly." Stacey introduces us. "Jonathan, Kimberly's going to show you around the school. You need help with anything during your first few weeks here, you go to her."

"Hi, I'm Kim. Not Kimberly, just Kim. Like Stacey said, you need anything, you come to me."

"Nice to meet you. My friends all call me Jon." He extends his hand, and I shake it. Just then, I notice his hazel eyes. Wait a second, I definitely know him. Jonathan… Jon…

Stacey sighs. "Kids these days. Given such beautiful names and they decide to ruin them by shortening them." We both ignore her.

"Wait, is your last name Mason?" I ask him. He gives me a weird look.

"Yes…." He says hesitantly. I do know him!

"It's me, Kim Crawford. Remember, your mom and mine are really good friends, so I stayed in your house in LA for a week about a year ago?"

He stares at me blankly for a second, then he recognizes me.

"Kim! Yeah, I remember you." He grins. "I'm finally as tall as you! Yes!"

"Well then, if you both know each other, I guess my work is done. Kimberly, you know what to do, right?" Stacey says.

"Yeah, I do."

"Okay, then. You two can go now. Kimberly, Jonathan's in all your classes today, so it'll be easier for you to show him around. After that, he'll get his permanent schedule."

Jon and I say bye to just-call-me-Stacey and leave the office. I can't wait till Jack meets Jon. This is gonna be great.

**Jon's POV**

Wow, I think to myself as I walk behind Kim. She certainly looks different from the last time I saw her. For one, she grew her hair out much longer, and for another, she ditched the glasses and braces. I totally didn't recognize her when I walked into the room. She's so pretty now. I sure hope she doesn't have a boyfriend…

**Haha that's all for today! Hope you enjoyed and please please review. **

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	20. Jack Gets Jealous

**Thanks for all the reviews, you guys! It totally means a lot to me. A special shoutout to MusicMusicMusic, who was my 200****th**** reviewer, and also to imsobored2013 for helping me with some of the plot for this chapter! Hope you like it.**

**Kim's POV**

Jon is following me to class when I remember that I completely forgot to do something important. I stop and turn around.

"Hey, Jon, do you know your locker number? I should probably take you there first before you go anywhere else, so you can drop off your bag and stuff." I say. Jon briefly rummages around in his pockets, then takes out a rumpled piece of paper.

"Umm.. I think it says 266. I'm not sure, though." He holds up the crumpled piece of paper sheepishly. I look at it and decide that yes, it does say 266.

"Okay. That locker's right beside Jerry Martinez's locker." Then I remember that Jon's new and doesn't know Jerry. "He's one of my friends." I quickly explain. I started counting Jerry as one of my friends again when he started dating Grace. Otherwise, he would've just been that guy who used to be my friend until my best friend and I fought and then he.. it's too complicated, not to mention sad, to think about just now. I banish the thoughts from my mind.

"Come on." I start walking down the hallway. He follows me to his new locker.

Once Jon's figured out his lock combination and dumped his stuff in his locker, I take him for a quick tour of the school, showing him the cafeteria, the gym, and some of the classrooms he's gonna be in, among other things. He hasn't really changed much since the last time I saw him, at least not personality-wise. I think it's so cool that, of all the places he could've moved, he moved here, to Seaford.

**Jon's POV**

Seaford High is so cool, especially since Kim's my guide. The entire tour, I'm barely paying attention to where we are. I just can't take my eyes off her, and I don't know why.

**Jack's POV**

I glance at the clock, worried. Kim should've been back by now. I hope she's all right. I would text her to make sure she's okay, but I'm in Social Studies right now and I would get detention if I were to do so much as peek into my pocket and turn on my phone, much less text my crush. Wait, did I just say my crush? No, no, no. I meant Kim.

It's been almost forty-five minutes since she got called to the office. Maybe she's in trouble for something, though I seriously doubt it. As far as I know, Kim tends to stay on the good sides of people- she hardly ever gets in trouble. It's gotta be something else.

** Lunch (still Jack's POV)**

I literally haven't seen Kim since she got called to the office. I'm starting to get pretty worried, especially since I've texted her like, five times in the last two hours and she hasn't texted back. I head for the cafeteria, my lunch in my hand and a worried look on my face.

It's not just that she didn't text me back, it's also that no one I've asked has seen her. Not Grace, not Jerry, not Bryden, not Milton, not Emerald (remember her? Jack's old girlfriend? I may or may not bring her back into the story for more drame…), and not Eddie. No one. It's like she disappeared or something.

I scan the cafeteria hopefully. Maybe she's here. Nope, not here. I'm making my way over to where Milton, Eddie, and Jerry are sitting when I spot a blonde girl on the other side of the cafeteria talking to a blond guy sitting across from her that I don't remember ever having seen before. Then, the girl turns sideways, and I know for sure- it's Kim. But what is she doing with that boy?

I hurry over. It better not be another one of those guys that love hitting on her. Most of the guys have backed off ever since the two of us regained our friendship, to Kim's relief, but maybe this one didn't.

I watch as he says something to Kim and gets up. Phew, he's gone. I slide into the seat beside Kim.

"Hey, Kim, I was worried about you. Where have you been all morning and why were you called to the office?"

She turns to me, surprised. "Oh, hi, Jack. I didn't know you were there." I spot the blond guy coming back out of the corner of my eye. "I didn't get called to the office because I was in trouble, thankfully. It was actually because my counselor wanted me to-"

"Hey, Kim. 'Sup, brochaco?" The blond guy sits back down across from Kim.

"I'm sorry, uh, who are you and what's a brochacho?" (I'll give you a shoutout if you can tell me what episode that's from!)

"This is Jon, he's new to Seaford. Like I was saying earlier, I got called to the office because my counselor wanted me to show him around. I'm supposedly his guide." Kim tells me.

"Yup. Stacey said if I need anything, I can go to Kim." Jon says. "So who are you?"

"I, " I say, trying my best not to glare at him, but failing,"Am Jack. I'm Kim's…" I hesitate, because I was going to say best friend, but I'm still not sure if she thinks of me that way. After all, I'm pretty sure Grace is her best friend. But before I can finish, Kim cuts in.

"best friend. My best friend." She smiles at me, and my heart beats a little faster. Quit it, Jack. You. Do. Not. Like. Kim.

"So, Jon, where you from?" I ask, genuinely curious. "And why do I feel like you already knew Kim before you moved here?" I glance at Kim, who's twirling a strand of her hair.

"Oh, I'm from L. A., and I know Kim from when she went on vacation in L. A. a year ago. She stayed at my place because my mom and her mom were best friends in high school." Jon says.

"Yep. He lived in Beverly Hills." Kim beams at him. "in the awesomest penthouse ever. It had huge pool, a hot tub, not to mention a view of the Hollywood sign."

Wow, this kid must be really rich. Like, millionaire rich. If he isn't, how on earth would he be able to afford a _penthouse_ in Beverly Hills? Especially one with a pool and a hot tub.. That's just.. wow. Not to mention the view.

Then, I notice the way Kim's looking at Jon. Like he's her hero, or something. What did he do to deserve that? He's barely been here for a day! I grip the table hard, overcome with a wave of jealously. No! Not jealousy! I don't like Kim!

"Well, I'm a second degree black belt in karate." I say. There is no way this scrawny kid can beat that. Actually, there's no way this scrawny kid does karate at all. I see Kim looking at me strangely, then I notice that I just totally changed the subject with no explanation. Jon doesn't notice, though.

"No way, man! Me too!" He holds up his hand for a high five.

"Say what?" I stare at him, dumbfounded.

"I'm a second degree black belt in karate too!" He says, still holding up his hand and grinning.

"Great!" I say, unenthusiastically, and high-five him really hard. It's actually more of a slap than a high-five. To his credit, he doesn't even let on that I hurt him, even though I can see that his hand is red and that he's rubbing it under the table. I notice, satisfied, that he's not grinning anymore. Apparently Kim does, too.

"Jack!" Kim says, annoyed.

"What?" I ask innocently.

"You know what!" She says.

"No I don't." I give her my best wide-eyed innocent face. She rolls her eyes, letting it go.

Then, Grace sits down on the other side of Kim.

"Hey, Grace! I thought you were hanging with Jerry today.." Kim says.

"Oh, I was, but he said he was planning a surprise for me and he had to go, so I came here."

"Okay." Kim says. That's when Grace notices Jon, sitting across from us.

"Hey, are you new here?" Grace asks Jon.

"Yeah, my name is Jon. I just moved here from L.A."

"Wow, that's pretty cool. I'm Grace. How you liking Seaford High so far?"

"It's awesome, especially since I have one of the best guides to the school that I could ask for." He winks at Kim, who beams at him again.

"Isn't he sweet, Jack?" She asks me.

"Yeah." I say, gripping the table again. "The sweetest." Kim doesn't notice my insincere tone, but Grace does, and she shoots me a look. I give her the innocent face, too.

"Hey, Jack, can I talk to you for a second?" Jon asks. That's just what I want, to be alone with _him_.

"Yeah, sure." I say.

He gets up, motioning for me to follow him. He walks out of the cafeteria and down the same hallway where I first heard Shawn and Bryden plotting to prank Kim. Why is it that every time someone wants to talk they come here? What is it with this hallway?

Jon turns around. "Jack, I realize you don't like me, and I'm not sure why. What did I do to you?"

Well, that's not something I'm about to explain to a total stranger, especially not this particular total stranger.

I give him my best fake smile. "What? Where did you get that idea? Of course I like you!" Thankfully, he looks as if he bought it.

"Phew, that's good. In that case, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." I say, trying to keep my fake smile on.

"Do you like Kim?" He asks.

** Mwahaha another cliffy! Hope you liked the longer than usual chapter. Please review! **

**Also, if you're looking for another story to read and you watch Lab Rats, please go check out my other story Battle to the Death in the Lab Rats/Kickin It crossover category. It would mean a lot to me if you did!**

**Oh, and if you want me to give a shoutout to your story in the next few chapters, please review telling me your username and the name of your story. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	21. Jack Tells the Truth

**Thank you all so incredibly much for the reviews! I can hardly believe I'm at, like, 232 reviews already. This is just insane. Since you're reading this right now, I'm sending you a virtual cookie XD (for those of you wondering, it can be any flavor you want. Magical cookies!)**

**My shoutouts for figuring out which episode the brochaco quote was from..**

**xxxRamonaxxx**

**emylova**

**Rainpath4**

**Lolstar99**

**Sadia (guest)**

**Liv4kickinit**

**Kickforever (guest)**

**MusicMusicMusic (I gave you a shoutout anyways! Haha )**

**(for those of you who don't know, the episode was Wrath of Swan!)**

**Also, for anyone looking for a good story to read, go check out Written at Sunset's story, Kick Song Fictions! (it's a oneshot)**

**Okay, now on to the story. WARNING there is not actually any kick in this, sadly. It's sort of a filler.**

**Previously on The Story of Us… (Jack's POV)**

"Hey, Jack, can I talk to you for a second?" Jon asks. That's just what I want, to be alone with _him_.

"Yeah, sure." I say.

He gets up, motioning for me to follow him. He walks out of the cafeteria and down the same hallway where I first heard Shawn and Bryden plotting to prank Kim. Why is it that every time someone wants to talk they come here? What is it with this hallway?

Jon turns around. "Jack, I realize you don't like me, and I'm not sure why. What did I do to you?"

Well, that's not something I'm about to explain to a total stranger, especially not this particular total stranger.

I give him my best fake smile. "What? Where did you get that idea? Of course I like you!" Thankfully, he looks as if he bought it.

"Phew, that's good. In that case, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." I say, trying to keep my fake smile on.

"Do you like Kim?" He asks.

**Still Jack's POV**

Oh, no. What do I say? What can I say?

I gasp, pointing to a spot on the floor behind Jon. "What is that?" (shoutouts to anyone who can tell me what show this is from! It's a little hard..) Then I turn around and run away. Well, at least, I try to. Jon grabs my arm as I turn around.

"Not so fast." He says. "You haven't answered my question yet." He glares at me.

"Okay, now you just sound like some villain from a movie." I say, trying to change the subject. "All you're missing is the minions, and the super-evil-"

Jon cuts me off. "Dude, just answer the question. Changing the subject is not going to work on me."

I give in. "All right, all right." Think fast, Jack. What do I say? "Can you let go of me now?" I stall for time. Jon lets go of my arm, thankfully. He's got a tight grip, and I would've tried to get free, but I figured this wasn't really a situation where I really need to use karate.

"So do you like Kim, or not? It's not a difficult question to answer. I'll even make it multiple choice for you- yes, or no." Jon says slowly, as if he was talking to a preschooler.

I glower at him. This guy is treating me like an idiot. Which, for the record, I am not. I knew I didn't like him when I first saw him!

"No, I don't, and even if I did, I would so not tell you." I say. Wow, that was pretty convincing, if I do say so myself. But Jon's not buying it. He's just standing there like a statue, staring at me, arms crossed. It's more than a little creepy.

"I don't buy that for a second." He says. Well, then. What now?

"Could you please stop looking at me like that? It's creeping me out." I say.

"No."

"Ugh! Fine! I surrender!" I really don't like how he's looking at me. "Maybe I do, but just a little. What does it matter to you, anyways?" No, Jack, no! Do not reveal your secrets to complete strangers! I mentally punch myself.

"That's not true." He says.

I throw my hands in the air, frustrated. "Then what do you want me to tell you?"

"The truth."

"I don't like Kim."

"That's not the truth."

"Okay, then, I like Kim! There, is that what you wanted to hear? I like Kim? Well then, I like Kim!" I clap a hand over my mouth. Did I just…

Jon grins. "I knew it! I knew-" The words die on his lips when he finds himself in a headlock.

"Tell a single soul, and I… Will.. Hurt.. You.." I threaten him.

He smirks. "You're forgetting something. I'm a second degree black belt, too." Ugh, he's right, I did forget that.

"I don't have to fight you to hurt you." I let him go. "Just don't tell anyone, okay? You seem like a nice guy, and I don't want to hurt you." Okay, I'll admit it. That one was a flat-out lie.

**Jon's POV (this part is just so you can get to know Jon a little bit more. I know it's short, but I hope it helps you understand him just a little better!)**

Sure, you don't want to hurt me. I'll believe that when pigs can fly.

"I'm not scared of your threats, but since I'm such a nice, considerate guy," I pause for emphasis, "I won't tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me."

I walk away from Jack. He surprised me, he's actually a very good liar. One of the best that I've ever met. But he can't fool me. No one can. It's just not possible.

Why, you may ask? Maybe that's a secret. I have a lot of secrets, you know. No, I won't tell you. That's for me to know, and you to wonder at.

I turn the corner and collide with someone. She shrieks and jumps back, dropping two textbooks in the process. One slides towards me. Huh, what is she doing with textbooks during lunch hour?

"Sorry." We both say at the same time. I pick up one of her textbooks and she picks up the other. She looks up at me. I freeze. Her eyes… Her eyes are so incredibly green. They sparkle.. Almost like emeralds. So mesmerizing.. So green.. So deep… So _familiar._

The girl waves her hand in front of my face. "Hello? You in there?" I realize I've been staring into her eyes. I cough and look away awkwardly.

"Yeah, sorry, you just look exactly like someone I used to know."

"Oh, really? I'm Emerald." I almost laugh. Emerald, of course, just like her eyes. And, yep, just as I thought, she isn't who I thought she was when I first saw her eyes.

"I'm Jon. I'm new."

"Yeah, I can tell. You still have that new kid smell. Umm….. can I have my textbook back? "

"Oh, sorry." I hand the textbook back to her. "Well, maybe I'll see you around, Emerald."

"Maybe you will." I walk away. (haha I just took that whole part from the first episode of Kickin It, and just changed the names!)

**Meanwhile..Jerry's POV**

"Milton, Eddie, Bryden, you gotta help me, yo! I have no idea what I'm gonna do." I pace back and forth, muttering in Spanish.

"Maybe you shouldn't have promised your girlfriend a surprise even when you knew you had nothing planned." Eddie says. "Take it from a playa like me. Don't promise girls anything that you know you can't do."

"But I thought I could do it! All I wanted to do was make her happy. Ever since she started dating me, girls that used to dis me are finally noticing me! And it's not just that, but I think she's the first girl I've dated that I actually like. You guys gotta help me, I don't know what to do."

"Maybe, if she's as wonderful as you keep on telling us she is, then you should just tell her that you didn't actually have anything planned. Maybe she'll understand." Milton suggests.

"No, no puedo hacer eso (I can't do that). I won't let her down like that."

"Well then, you better start planning a surprise, and fast." Bryden says.

"It's gotta be special, and surprising, and…" I'm stuck already. "Will you guys please help me?"

"Oh, fine." Milton sighs.

"I guess so." Eddie says.

"Well, I have nothing better to do, so I'm in." Bryden says.

"Thanks, you guys are the best." I sigh in relief.

"Hey, Jerry! You done planning my surprise yet?" I turn around, startled. Grace is standing there, her hand on her hip. Kim's right behind her, looking down at her phone.

All the guys glance at me, waiting for my answer. What, no backup?

"Umm.. umm.. what was the question again?" I ask.

Grace laughs. "You are so cute! Are you done planning my surprise yet?"

"Oh.. um… yeah. Almost done! You're gonna love it."

"Aww… you're so sweet, planning a surprise for me. I can't wait to find out what it is!"

"You're going to love it.." I say, not looking her in the eye.

"I'm sure I will. Well, I've gotta go now. See you later."

"Bye." I wave halfheartedly at her as she walks away, talking to Kim.

Eddie lets out a breath. "Phew, almost thought she was gonna find out you didn't have a surprise planned."

I grab his shoulders and shake him, hard. "You gotta help me! What do I do now? I just told Grace I was almost done planning her surprise! I need an idea now!"

"Calm down, Jer." Bryden pries my hands off Eddie's shoulders. Eddie scowls at me, rubbing his shoulders. "We're helping you, remember?"

"Thanks, guys. Now, what can I do for Grace that'll make her happy?"

**So.. what did you think? Personally, I feel like this chapter was one of my worst chapters ever, but maybe(and hopefully) that's just me. Please review!**

** Also, I was wondering- would you guys prefer a longer chapter every other day, or should I keep the update lengths and frequencies the same as they are right now? Please put your opinion in a review, if you can. Thanks!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	22. Chats, Crushes and Plans

**Hi, I'm back! For all of you guys who read last night's chapter, this one IS different. I've added on to it. So if you read the 'chats' chapter yesterday, just skip to the part where it says Two Weeks Later, because I just added on to the end. Hope you enjoy!**

** That night.. Kim's POV**

I just finished my math homework, so I log on to my chat account, Taylor Swift blasting through my headphones.

Grace opens up a chat right away.

**AmazingGrace (haha see what I did there? No? Okay.):Hey, Kim, you there?**

** TheKimCrawford: Hi, yeah I'm here.**

** AmazingGrace: Yay! Oh, did I tell you Jerry's planning a surprise for me? He's soooo sweet.**

Okay, not that I have anything against Grace dating Jerry, but when she talks about Jerry 24/7, it can get a little annoying, if you know what I mean. But she's my best friend, so I put up with it, because I know she'd do it for me.

**TheKimCrawford: Yeah. You seem pretty excited. **That's an understatement.

**AmazingGrace: I am! And even though I have absolutely no idea what it's gonna be, I'm sure it's gonna be amazing. After all, it's Jerry.**

A light on the side of my screen starts to blink. It's beside Jack's username. I click on it.

**BlackBelt177: Hi Kim**

** TheKimCrawford: Hey, Jack. What's up?**

** BlackBelt177: Oh, just the ceiling, the sky, and the stars. **

**TheKimCrawford: Lol, okay. **

** BlackBelt177: Hey, I was just wondering how well you know Jon. **That's a weird question..

** TheKimCrawford: Umm.. not very well, why?**

** BlackBelt177: Well, you're probably not going to believe me, just like you didn't last time, but there's something a little off about Jon. Like, there's something he's not telling us.**

** TheKimCrawford: Of course he's not telling us everything. You just met him today, for goodness sake. Stop being so suspicious of all the guys I get close to! Don't judge him yet, please at least give him a chance. **

** BlackBelt177: Okay, fine, I will. But only because you asked me to. Doesn't mean that I trust him. **

I have no reason not to trust Jon. And if I don't have any reason to distrust someone, I trust them. It's just who I am.

** TheKimCrawford: I trust him.**

** BlackBelt177: Yeah, but you trust everyone.**

** TheKimCrawford: No, I don't!**

** BlackBelt177: Name one person that you don't trust. **

I don't even have to think about it. It's pretty obvious who I don't trust.

** TheKimCrawford: Shawn**

** BlackBelt177: You trusted him at first. Only after you found out he really was going to prank you did you stop trusting him**

He got me there. I did trust him at first, but only at first. I don't trust him anymore.

** TheKimCrawford: True… but I don't trust him anymore, and that's what matters.**

** BlackBelt177: I guess. Anyways, I gotta go now. Meet you at the corner tomorrow morning at the normal time?**

** TheKimCrawford: Sure. Byee!**

** BlackBelt177: Bye.**

** _BlackBelt177 has exited this chat room._**

The green light beside his name flickers off, and that's when I notice that Grace's name is blinking. Right, I forgot I was in a chat room with Grace. Oops..

I click on her name and the screen switches to her chat room.

**AmazingGrace: Kim? You there?**

** _7:48 PM_**

**AmazingGrace: _Kim? Hello?_**

**_ 7:50 PM_**

**AmazingGrace: I gotta go, Kim. Jerry's talking to me! See ya tomorrow.**

** _7:53 PM_**

**TheKimCrawford: Hey, Grace, sorry I disappeared. You still there?**

She doesn't reply, so either she left or she's still talking to Jerry.

**TheKimCrawford: Well, I gotta go now. See you!**

** Jerry's POV**

** AmazingGrace: So, Jerry, when's my surprise gonna be ready? ; )**

What to say, what to say, what to say?

**Swagalicious33(Jerry): Umm.. I'll be right back.**

** AmazingGrace: Okay.**

I switch to the chat room with Milton and Bryden. I think Eddie said he was at some Scouts meeting thing, but I'm not sure.

**Swagalicious33: Guys guys guys Grace is asking me when her surprise is gonna be ready what to say what to say what to say?**

** Bryden1234 (I know, creative right?): Calm down, Jerry!**

** CheeseSneeze (Milton): Just tell her that it will be ready in three weeks. That will give you enough time to prepare.**

** Swagalicious33: Okay. **

I switch back to Grace's chat room.

**Swagalicious33: About three weeks. I gotta go now. See you tomorrow, beautiful.**

** AmazingGrace: Okay! Aww you're so sweet. See you!**

** Time skip: Two weeks and three days (so it's not Friday anymore(FINALLY!)) in advance.**

** Kim's POV**

Jon's been in town for just over two weeks, and he's actually adjusting to life at Seaford High pretty fast. He's already made a lot of friends, in particular, Emerald Millers. Lately, I've been seeing them together more and more, yet every time Jon is asked if he likes her, he denies it.

No one believes him, of course, for obvious reasons. After all, they're hanging out with each other an awful lot for people who just met each other less than a month ago.

Of course, Jon spends time with me, too, seeing that I was the only person he knew at first. But lately I've been spending more time with Jack than anyone else, since Grace seems to always be with Jerry now. I feel like we're growing apart just a little bit, but I'm hoping it's just me.

Grace is truly one of the best friends I have ever had and could ever ask for, and if we grow apart because of a boy? I will be really disappointed if that happens. Hopefully, it doesn't. After all, friends stick together through thick and thin, right? Right?

Well, I hope so at least. And yes, I did just say that I've been spending a lot of time with Jack. What about your other girlfriends, you ask? What about them? The truth is, I don't have a lot of close friends. I can probably count them on one hand. Jack, Grace, Jon. That's it.

I used to have way more friends than that, but back when I retreated into myself in late grade six and grade seven, they all left. Grace was the only one who stuck by me, loyal all along.

But lately, since she's been so busy with Jerry, I've been hanging out with Jack more and more. It's actually a lot of fun being around him- I'd almost forgotten how much I missed having him as my best friend. Yes, that's right, he's my best friend again, because even after he hurt me so much, it's just too hard to stay mad at him for long.

I sigh, glancing at the clock. This has got to be the most boring study hall ever. I've got no homework to do or tests to study for, which is a miracle and would usually be a good thing, except that I'm bored to death with nothing to do. I can't believe I'm actually wishing I had homework right now. I sneak a glance at Mr. Oliver, who's supposed to be supervising us. He's reading a book intently, not taking his eyes off it.

Maybe I can use my phone. We're usually not allowed to have phones in study hall, but I've got nothing to do. I'm just going to have to be careful not to get caught. Well.. since no one's looking, it can't hurt, right?

I slowly pull my phone out of my pocket, looking around. No one's looking- wait, no. Mr. Oliver's watching me, suspiciously. I sigh and slide my phone back into my pocket. Looks like I'm going to be sitting here, bored, for the next half hour of my life.

Mr. Oliver returns to his book. I can't just sit here for the next half hour! I'm going to go insane with boredom. Besides, what's the point of pretending to study?

I look over at Jack, sitting beside me. He's doodling all over a loose piece of paper. I doubt he's got anything to do, either. I rip off the corner of my blank sheet of lined paper. Writing a quick message on it, I discreetly slide my hand over to his desk and drop the piece of paper.

I watch as he picks it up, smiles at me, then scribbles something on the piece of paper and passes it back to me.

I'd written, 'hey, you bored to death too?' underneath that, he'd written, 'what do you think?'. He'd also drawn a stick man sleeping, slumped over a table, z's rising from his head. As I looked at it, I got an idea.

I quickly drew a mustache and bulging eyes on the stick man, then passed it back to Jack, smirking. He took one look at it, and started drawing again.

Five minutes later, together we'd drawn a stick man on fire with bulging donut eyes and a really long mustache, falling into a pit of snakes with bows on their heads. It shouldn't be as funny as it is- after all, it's just a drawing, right? But that's how bored we are. Trying not to laugh our heads off in a room full of silent people sure beats boredom.

We're struggling so hard to hold our laughter in. Jack's actually shaking, and every time he meets my eye, he puts his head down on his desk, shaking even harder with silent laughter. I'm not really that much better, muffling my laughter with my bright blue hoodie.

As I'm doing my best not to start laughing out loud, I see Jon watching Jack and I from across the room. I meet his eyes, and the smile quickly drops off my face. Jon looks pretty unhappy, and is that jealously that I see in his eyes? No, I've got to be wrong. He can't be jealous of Jack and I, he's got Emerald.

He looks back down at his desk, where he's actually got a textbook open, and I bite my lip. Jack notices my expression and looks at me, quizzically. He's not trying to stop laughing anymore, so either he got himself under control, or he saw the way Jon was looking at me. And from the expression on his face, I'm guessing it was the latter.

I shake my head at him, when he glares at Jon, who's obliviously writing something down. I know he sees me, but he's pretending not to. I'm really confused right now, what's going on here?

**Jack's POV**

I know exactly what's going on here. I saw the way Jon was looking at Kim. I bet he likes her- in fact, that's probably the reason why he asked me if I liked her. He's probably just pretending to like Emerald because I threatened him.

I hope he's scared of me, because if he's not, he'll probably make a move on Kim like so many other guys before him have. And if he asks Kim out and she accepts, I don't want to admit it, but that might just kill me inside.

I really don't want to admit that I like Kim, but if I don't, she'll never know how I feel about her, and she might start liking someone else. I know for a fact that she doesn't have a crush on anyone- she told me last week, and everyone knows Kim Crawford is a terrible liar, so she had to be telling the truth.

I'll admit that I was a little sad when she said that, because it meant that she didn't like me, but at the same time I was happy because she didn't like someone else. But she might, soon, if I don't tell her how I feel.

It won't be as easy as it sounds, though. Telling someone you like them is usually difficult enough, but when it's your best friend, who's rejected more boys than you can count on all your fingers, it's even more difficult than it should be.

I mean like, what if I'm no different than all the other boys? She rejected them, what's to stop her from rejecting me? If she rejects me, I don't even know what I'm gonna do then. I don't think I'd be able to handle being rejected by Kim. That's just one of the many reasons I'm scared to tell her- or anyone else- that I like her.

If I'm gonna tell Kim that I like her, I'm going to need a really, really good plan. I'm gonna need something brilliant.

**Jon's POV**

Across the room, I see Jack and Kim trying to contain their laughter. I wonder what's so funny. I feel a flash of jealousy, because of the way Kim's looking at Jack. Jack doesn't even notice. Kim catches me looking at her, and I quickly drop my gaze. I sure hope she didn't pick up on what I was feeling.

I can't like Kim. I don't want to admit it, but I'm pretty scared of Jack. Even though I'm sure I can hold my own in a fight with him, there's just something a little intimidating about him.

I really want to ask her out, though. I just need to get her alone, when Jack's not around. But when.. and how?

**At lunch (Milton's POV)**

I find Jack sitting with Kim, Jon, Jerry and Grace.

"Hey, Milton." Grace, Kim and Jon greet me up the same time.

"Hey, Cheese Sneeze." Jerry smirks.

"Oh, hi, Milton, didn't see you there. What's up, man?" Jack says.

"Hi, guys. Jack, I umm need to talk to you for a second. Is that okay?" I say nervously.

"Yeah, of course." He stands up. "I'll be right back."

"See ya, Jack." Kim says. No one else notices Jack leave.

He follows me just outside the cafeteria. I look left and right to make sure no one's around to hear what I'm going to say.

"So what's up, Milton?" Jack asks. I hestitate. Now or never, Milton. Now or never.

"I.. um.. like Julie, but I don't know how to tell her and I'm scared of being rejected by her, but if she starts liking someone else and she doesn't know that I like her I don't know what I'm gonna do. I'm too scared to tell her, but I want her to know." I blurt out.

Jack stares at me blankly. "Sorry Milton, I couldn't keep up. Say again?"

"Oh, sorry. I like Julie, and I want her to know, but I don't know how to tell her. Not only that, if I tell her and she rejects me, I'm gonna be sad, but if she doesn't know that I like her. But if I don't tell her and she starts liking someone else, I'm gonna be sad, too. So I want her to know that I like her, but I need a really good way to tell her."

I look at Jack hopefully. I may be smart when it comes to school and academics, but I'm definitely not smart with relationships. Hopefully, Jack can help me. He looks like he's thinking hard. Then, his face lights up.

"I've got it." He says.

**So.. what did you think? Do any of you have ideas for what Jack can tell Milton about telling Julie he likes her? I've got some more drama planned for the next chapter, so stay tuned! Please review, and thanks for reading! Hope you liked it XD**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	23. I Do Not Have A Crush On You!

**Hey, guys! I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to update last night. I promise I have a really good excuse- yesterday, I got locked out of my room and had to climb onto a roof and through a second- story window…. It's really a long story. And then this morning, my laptop died on me. But anyways, I'm back now with another chapter! Hope you enjoy!**

**Shoutouts to people who gave me ideas (sorry if I missed anyone!)…**

**Pazific**

**Jelloisyummy123**

**Phoenix2014**

**Mnash123**

**Jennlee1**

**Now on to the story..**

**Previously on The Story of Us..**

Jack stares at me blankly. "Sorry Milton, I couldn't keep up. Say again?"

"Oh, sorry. I like Julie, and I want her to know, but I don't know how to tell her. Not only that, if I tell her and she rejects me, I'm gonna be sad, but if she doesn't know that I like her. But if I don't tell her and she starts liking someone else, I'm gonna be sad, too. So I want her to know that I like her, but I need a really good way to tell her."

I look at Jack hopefully. I may be smart when it comes to school and academics, but I'm definitely not smart with relationships. Hopefully, Jack can help me. He looks like he's thinking hard. Then, his face lights up.

"I've got it." He says.

**Still Milton's POV**

"Send her some secret admirer notes. You know, like, telling her how you feel- but don't leave a name. Give her a few of those, then after a while, arrange to have her meet you somewhere. Then, you can ask her out." Jack says.

"But she might still reject me." I say.

"If she's hesitant, tell her it's a double date, which will hopefully make her a little less nervous about the whole thing. It works every time- well, at least, according to my cousin. Who, come to think of it, isn't actually all that reliable, but I'm gonna believe him."

"Holy Christmas Nuts! That's brilliant, Jack!" I say. "Only.. what do I write in the notes?"

"Don't worry, I'll help you figure it out." He says.

"Thanks, Jack, you're the best." I hug him.

"No problem." He hugs me back.

**Jack's POV**

I walk back to the cafeteria, whistling. I sure hope it works out with Milton and Julie. It's pretty obvious to everyone but them that they're crushing on each other badly. Both of them are just too scared to make their moves, and that's what's stopping them.

I open my locker, grabbing a bag of Lays Original chips, then stop. I think I hear Kim.. and Jon?

"Kim, I don't know how to say this to you. Umm.. you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, and I really like you." Jon says, hesitantly.

No, no, no, no, no. I knew it. I knew he liked her! It was just a matter of time before he made his move. I am going to kill him. He _knows _that I like her, and he still.. Ugh. I knew that kid was bad news.

Their voices are coming from around the corner. Bringing my bag of Lays, I silently tiptoe over to the corner, ninja-style. I sure hope Jon isn't facing this way.

**Kim's POV**

"Wow… that's really sweet of you, Jon, thanks." I say, flattered, even though I don't really believe him. Plenty of girls are way prettier than me. Like, look at Emerald. I would kill to have her eyes. If she's a diamond, then I'm a dime. (hope that made sense..)

I'm just me, you know? Boring brown eyes, typical California-girl blonde hair, average height. Nothing special there, at least not that I can see.

"Well, it's true. So do you wanna go for dinner with me, Saturday night at eight?" He asks, nervously.

My eyes widen, but not because he just asked me out. Jack's standing not three feet behind Jon, glaring at him. He sees me looking, and shakes his head.

"No." He mouths at me. "Say no."

Jon's too busy looking at his feet to see me mouth back at Jack, "Why?"

He just looks at me, like, duh. I bite my lip, then shoo Jack. "Go, go, go." I mouth. He leaves, thankfully.

"Jon… the thing is… You're a really great friend, and I'm sure you would be an amazing boyfriend, but the thing is, I only see you as a friend, nothing more."

He doesn't reply.

"Please, Jon, don't be mad or feel rejected." I plead with him. "I just want to stay friends with you."

"Don't worry about it, Kim. I knew I wasn't good enough for you, anyways." He says, sadly.

"No, Jon. It's not that you're not good enough for me, trust me. You'd make an amazing boyfriend, but the thing is, I sort of still have feelings for someone else. Please, understand."

Wait, no. Did I just tell him I liked someone else? What if Jack's listening? Ugh! I already told Jack I didn't like anyone, and I don't want him to know that I lied to him.

"Oh, that's okay, I guess. Don't worry, I'm not mad at you."

"Oh, good. Promise we can still be friends, though?"

"Promise."

"Besides, I'm pretty sure there's a certain blonde-haired, green eyed girl who likes you a lot."

"What! Who told you so?"

"Things like that are pretty obvious, Jon. Now go and find Emerald. Go!"

He walks away, and I sag against the wall. I really hate rejecting people, but if I didn't, I'd have, like, at least ten boyfriends right now, if not more. I wish people would realize that I'm really not anything special.

I don't understand why so many boys have been asking me out lately. Some girls thrive on that kind of attention, but, to be honest, I find it a little stressful. Sweet, yes, but stressful nonetheless.

Sometimes I wish I was invisible again, like I was when this school year started. All these.. boy problems just started happening in, like, December and January. Sure, it's really flattering that all these guys like me, but I feel like it's too much.

I wouldn't really mind if it was one or two, or maybe even three, but the sheer numbers? Ugh. And I've made enemies out of a few popular girls, too, after their boyfriends asked me out. For the record, I steadfastly refused, but that's not how those girls saw it.

**Jack's POV**

I'm crouching around the corner, listening in. I hear Jon walk away in the opposite direction, and get up just in case Kim comes this way. I'm halfway to my locker when she comes around the corner and stops in her tracks.

"J-J-Jack!" She stutters. "You weren't listening, were you?"

"Maybe."

She glares at me. "You were, weren't you?"

"Yeah, but only just in case you needed help or something. Remember when that other guy got really mad at you for rejecting him, and gave you a really bad bruise?"

She scowls. "I can take care of myself, Jack. And for the record, that was only because I was facing the other way."

"If you say so. Anyways, what was that about having feelings for someone else?" I smirk. "Does Kimmy have a crush?"

"I do not have a crush on you!" She says, throwing her hands up in the air. "And for the last time, don't call me Kimmy!"

"I never said you had a crush on me, I just said that I heard you had a crush." I say, catching her mistake.

She blushes furiously, and stomps away.

**Kim's POV**

I can't believe I just.. ugh! Jack's not an idiot, he probably knows that I have a crush on him now. For goodness sake, I haven't told anyone- not even Grace! It was something that just.. happened so fast, and before I knew it, I liked him. It was never supposed to happen- after all, numbers one and two on the Kim Crawford's List of Things NOT To Do are: 1. Fall for someone 2. Cry. Jack's made me do both. As Milton would say, GAH!

**Milton's POV, After School.**

"GAH!" I yell. "Stupid note!" I crumple up yet another piece of paper. "They're getting worse and worse by the second!"

"It's not going to write itself, Milton." Jack's sitting on the couch, munching on some caramel popcorn. "Just give it some time."

"But they're getting worse and worse!" I say.

"Then I suggest you write it fast, before it really goes downhill."

"But you just said to take my time!" I'm really frustrated now.

"Yeah, that was before you told me that they're getting worse. You should've just stuck with the first one you wrote, in that case."

"You mean the one you flushed down the toilet, because you said it was that bad? That was my best note!" I say.

"Sorry, it really was bad. I shudder to think how much worse they are now, if that one was your good one."

I'm over at Jack's house, and he's helping me write my first anonymous note to Julie. We'd walked over here with Kim, then after grabbing some caramel popcorn, she left to go to her own house. Homework, she'd said.

"I'm really bad at this. I thought you said you would help." I sigh and sit down on the carpet.

"I tried, but mine are even worse than yours, and you know it. Hey, why don't I call Kim? She's a girl, she might have a better idea of what to say to Julie." He says.

"But I thought she was doing homework."

"She's probably long done by now. So, want me to call her?" He offers, holding up his phone. "You probably won't regret it."

"Oh, fine. Go ahead."

**Kim's POV**

I'm sprawled out on my bed, headphones on. Yes, you guessed it, I'm listening to Taylor Swift again. I'm so bored, and no one's online to chat. Grace isn't answering any of my texts and neither are Julie and Mika, who I recently started hanging out with, so I'm just listening to music and playing with the edge of my green and silver comforter.

Hey, I wonder what Jack's doing right now. I glance at the clock. Milton's probably still over there. They said they were doing homework, but I'm pretty sure they're not.

The music pauses, and I Think About You by Ross Lynch starts playing. It's the ringtone I set for Jack. Do not ask me why I chose that song, because I will refuse to answer you.

_I think about you every morning when I open my eyes._

_I think about you every evening when I turn out the lights._

_I think about you every moment, every day of my life._

_You're on my mind all the time. It's true._

_I think about you, you, you, you, you.._

I'm so caught up in the music that I almost forget that it's a ringtone. Quickly picking up my phone, I tap 'Answer Call'.

"Hi, Jack." I say, brightly.

"Hi, Kim. Hey, how'd you know it was me?" Jack wonders.

Well, I'm not about to tell him that it was the ringtone I set for him, because then he's going to ask what it is, and that'll just get awkward. Not to mention, a little embarrassing for me.

"Umm.. Caller ID!" I fib. Again with the lying, Kim! This seriously needs to stop.

"Oh, okay then. Anyways, I was wondering if you could come over and help Milton and I with something. You know, if you're done your homework and everything. And if your mom is good with it." He says.

"Sure! I'm like, dying of boredom anyways. One sec, I'm gonna ask." I reply.

"Okay."

I put my phone down on my bed, then walk over to the stairs.

"Mom, can I go to a friend's house for a bit? I'm done my homework." I yell down the stairs. My mom's cooking dinner.

"Sure, honey, just be back by eight, okay? And take your phone with you." She yells to me.

"Okay, I will. Thanks, mom!"

I run over to my bed and pick up my phone again.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"My mom said yes. I'll be there in 5, okay?" I say.

"Kay, that's great. See ya!"

"Bye." I hang up.

Grabbing a teal woven shoulder bag, I stuff my teal phone, a mint lip gloss, a gel pen, my keys, and a tiny teal hairbrush in. You can probably tell that teal's my favorite color by now, what with all the teal things I own.

Slipping on my combat boots and my grey cardigan, I run down the stairs. I'm about to open the front door when I realize that I should probably tell my mom I'm leaving first. So I run over to the kitchen. Poking my head through the door, I see her humming as she stirs a pot.

"Hey, mom, I'm leaving now, okay? I have my phone and I promise I will be back by eight." I say.

"Okay, hun. Stay safe, okay?"

"I will, mom." I hug her, then run out the front door.

**So.. what did you think? Hope you liked it, and please review! (Pretty pretty please with sprinkles and butterscotch syrup on top?) Haha. **

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	24. How Hard Can It Be To Write A Note?

**Wow. Just wow. The sheer number of reviews I got for the last chapter made me cry tears of joy- literally. Thank you all so much! You honestly have no clue how much each of your reviews mean to me. Hope you all enjoy this chapter! : )**

**Kim's POV**

I run down my street, my bag bouncing on my hip. I turn left when I reach the main street in our neighborhood, and keep running until I reach a street sign that reads, 'Honeyapple Crescent' (not a real street, I just really like honey. And apples…). When I see the sign, I hesitate. It's been a while since I've been here.

Taking the turn, I jog along the narrow sidewalk, eventually reaching Jack's house. It looks exactly as I remember- painted sky blue, with a white garage and a grey roof. The rosebushes have gotten even prettier, with every color of rose growing on them- red, yellow, white, yellow, and pink. There's also a new row of purple flowers I don't remember having seen before.

There aren't any cars in the driveway, so either they're in the garage, or Jack's parents aren't home. Walking up the driveway, I hesitantly press the doorbell beside the white double doors. While I wait for him to answer the door, I admire the frosted glass windows set in the doors. I wish I had such pretty front doors.

I'm a little nervous, and I'm not sure why. It's probably because I haven't been here for like, three years. The first year after we fought, I would sometimes walk past Jack's house on my way to my grandma's and grandpa's house, but they've since moved to New York, and so I didn't really have much reason to come here until now.

I hear footsteps, and then the door swings open. It's Jack. The second I see him, I freeze, and so does he. We're just standing there, one of us on each side of the doorway, looking at each other.

He glances backwards, and the moment ends. Was it even a moment, or was it just my imagination? I don't know.

"Hey, Kim, come in." He says, glancing at his watch. "Hey, how'd you get here so fast?"

I walk in, slipping my combat boots off and leaving them by the door. "Oh, I ran."

"All the way?" He asks. I nod. "Wow, you don't even look tired."

"I like running."

"Oh, okay." He says. I follow him to the living room, where Milton's sitting on the white leather couch, surrounded by balls of crumpled paper. And when I say surrounded, I mean surrounded. If there were about fifty more, he would've been buried in crumpled paper.

"Hey, Milton. Trouble with homework?" I ask. "That's a first." I mutter under my breath, but not quietly enough because Jack laughs. Luckily, Milton doesn't notice.

He sighs. "No, not really." He picks up a crumpled paper ball, smooths it out on his knees, then sighs, crumples it back up, and tosses it to the ground. "It's something else."

I walk over to the couch and sweep as many paper balls off of it before I sit down beside Milton. Jack sits down on the other side of him.

"Can you tell her for me?" Milton asks Jack.

"Okay." Jack turns to me. "Milton's got a really big crush on this girl- can I tell her the girl's name, Milton?"

"Sure, go ahead." Milton waves a limp hand. "She's gonna have to know if she's gonna help."

"Okay. So Milton's got this big crush on Julie-" He says, but I interrupt him.

"Julie, as in Ty's niece? Ty, as in the Black Dragons?" I ask.

**Jack's POV**

"Yep, Julie as in Ty's niece." I confirm. "So, anyways, he's got this huge crush on her, and he really wants to tell her how he feels, and maybe ask her out, but he doesn't know how to, and he's afraid of getting rejected." I say. A split second after the words are out of my mouth, I realize that I pretty much just told my crush my exact predicament.

I watch her out of the corner of my eye as I play with one of the paper balls. I sure hope she didn't notice how I immediately looked down right after I told her what was up with Milton.

If she noticed, she doesn't let on. Instead, she picks up a note, uncrumples it, and reads it over slowly. Milton and I both watch her, to see her reaction.

She crumples up the note, throwing it at the wall opposite us. "Seriously, Milton? Seriously?"

"In my defense, Jack flushed my good one down the toilet. They're just getting worse and worse." Milton sighs.

"And worse!" I cheerfully add. Milton glares at me, but Kim stifles a laugh.

"So… I'm guessing you want my help writing a note to Julie?" Kim asks.

"Yeah." Milton says. "It turns out to be much harder to write one simple note to a girl than it sounds."

"Much harder." I agree. Milton ignores me.

"So what do you want to tell her?" Kim asks.

"That's the problem. I don't know." He says.

"Well, why don't you start with something simple? Like, tell her you like her new haircut or something, I don't know- but make sure you don't sign the note.

Then, after you send her a few anonymous notes, she'll be really curious as to who's doing this. That's when you slip a note into her locker, asking her to meet you behind the school or something. Then, you can reveal yourself, and ask her out. Simple as that." Kim says, calmly.

"Wow, that's a really good idea, Kim." I compliment her.

"Thanks." She says.

Milton considers it briefly.

"Well, it's got to be better than what I've got now." He says. "Actually, no. It is better than what I've got now. One second, let me go get the notepad." Milton gets up and wades through the sea of crumped paper, until he reaches the table. He picks up a white pad of paper and a green pen, and wades back towards us.

He flops down on the couch. Kim and I both scoot closer to him, so we can see what he's writing better.

"So, what do I start with?" He asks, uncapping the pen. He throws the cap on the floor. "Why did I do that? Now we're never going to find it." He groans.

"That's okay, we'll find it after we clean up." I say.

"Okay, so start with Dear Julie, or just Julie." Kim suggests. Milton writes it down.

**Five minutes later…**

"See? It doesn't have to be long to be good. Read it to us one more time, Milton?" Kim asks.

"Okay.

_Hi, Julie._

_Just wanted you to know that you're really beautiful and smart._

_I think you're a pretty cool girl, and I would love to get to know you better._

_From, Your Secret Admirer._"

"You're sure it's not too short, and the 'From Your Secret Admirer' part isn't too cheesy?" I ask Kim.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Trust me, any girl would be pretty intrigued just by a note like that. A few more, and you've got her hooked." Kim grins. Before we can ask her if she's sure, she adds, "Yes, I am sure. Take it from a girl."

"I can't believe it only took you five minutes to write that. We should've called you earlier, Kim." I say, and Milton agrees.

"Thank you so much, you guys are the best. I'll slip this into her locker tomorrow, and I guess we'll see where it goes from there." Milton says.

"Wait, no, I'll do it." Kim says.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because." She rolls her eyes. "If Julie catches Milton slipping this into her locker, she's gonna know it's him, and your plan will be ruined. If she catches me, she won't know who it's from, because I'm obviously not going to tell her."

Milton nods. "Okay, fine by me. We should probably start cleaning up now." He stares forlornly at the cream-colored carpet, or at least what you can see of it.

Kim sighs, looking around. "Okay. Jack, do you have a recycling bin or something?"

"Yeah, in the garage. I'll go get it." I say, before she can offer to.

**Kim's POV**

Jack runs off to the garage, leaving me alone with Milton.

"You're sure this'll work, Kim?" He asks.

"Don't worry, it'll work." I assure him. Jack comes back carrying a huge blue recycling bin, and we all start picking up crumpled balls of paper and dumping them in the bin. They don't all fit, even though the bin is pretty big, and eventually I have to climb in and jump on the paper, so that it'll all fit.

Ten minutes later, the floor is clean, and Jack has a really, really full recycling bin. He and Milton carry it to the garage while I pick up any tiny scraps of paper left over.

Milton glances at the clock, and says that his mom's expecting him home in half an hour.

"I'd better get going, since my house is a few miles away. Bye, guys. Thanks to both of you for the help." He says.

He hops on his bike and pedals away, leaving Jack and me alone in his house.

After Milton leaves, we go back to the living room.

"What time do you have to be home, Kim? You can stick around for a bit, if you want." Jack offers, as we sit down on his couch.

"Hmm.." I think about it." It's only six o'clock, and my mom said I've gotta be home by eight, so I've got quite a bit of time. I guess I can stick around. Where are your parents, though?"

"Oh, they're on a business trip for two weeks, to Boston, I think. I've got the house to myself for another one and a half week." He says.

"Okay."

"So, what do you wanna do? Watch a movie?"

"Actually…. Do you still play Mario Kart? I know it's a little childish.. but for old times' sake?" I ask.

"Oh, actually, don't tell anyone, but I do play it sometimes. I bet I can still beat you, even though I haven't played for at least four months." He says, and I grin.

"You're on."

**Haha.. hope you enjoyed, and pretty pretty please review? ( With maraschino cherries and chocolate syrup on top, this time!)**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	25. I Did Not See That One Coming

**Hi! So, I decided what I'm going to do. It really wasn't an easy choice, because there were so many of you who wanted me to continue writing this story. I have decided that I will be ending the story within two to three chapters; however, if any of you are interested, I am considering writing a sequel to this story. **

**And for those of you who wanted to know if I'm going to be writing another story after this, I'm writing two stories on the side right now: I Won't Give Up On Us(Kickin' It, of course!) and Battle to the Death (Kickin it and Lab Rats Xover). If you haven't read them yet, just click on my profile and you should see them. I think I'll be starting a new story after those are finished.**

**Sorry this update's so late! This chapter is gonna have way more romance than usual (Don't worry, it'll stay rated T haha), and it's my first ever time writing a romantic scene. I'm more than a little nervous to see what you guys will think. Scratch that- I'm really really nervous. I hope you like it! (credits to Neyson14 for the idea! Hope you don't mind that I tweaked it a bit.)**

**And now.. without further ado… I give you Chapter 25 of The Story of Us! **

**An hour and a half later… Kim's POV**

"I can't believe you just beat me- again!" Jack whines. "That's so unfair."

"Oh, suck it up." I grin madly, still on a high from winning yet another round. "It was totally fair, and you know it. You just don't want to admit that I'm better than you."

"No, you're not! You just got lucky." He retorts, smiling.

"Yeah, sure. Seven times? I don't think so." I say.

"Hey, I won one round!" He says indignantly.

"Oh, fine. Six times. Still unlikely, though."

Jack sighs. "That's true. You up for one more round?" He asks.

I check the clock hanging over the door. It's just past 7:30. It feels like we were only playing for about half an hour, but I guess time flies when you're having fun.

"I don't know… I have to be home in less than half an hour."

"But it only takes seven minutes to walk to your house, and three if you run!" He says. "Please.. just one round? One more round. It can't hurt." He pleads, giving me the puppy dog eyes. Ugh, it is so hard to say no to those, especially when it's Jack. But I can't give in, because if I do, I'll be home late and might get in trouble.

"Jack, one round takes, like, at least ten minutes. Then, after that you're gonna ask for another- don't even try to deny it." I cut him off as he opens his mouth. "I should get going."

"Aww.. really?" Jack asks.

"Yep." I say. He gives me the puppy dog eyes again.

"Please?"

"Maybe some other time, Jack."

"Oh, all right. At least let me walk you home, or something." He says.

"Okay, but on one condition. I get to take home some of that caramel popcorn." I say, pointing to the almost-empty tin we'd been eating from for the past hour. It's one of my favorite foods, and Jack knows it.

"Alright. One second." He runs out of the room, returning a few seconds later with a ziploc baggie that he fills with caramel popcorn and hands to me. I stuff it in my bag, but not before sneaking a few kernels of sweet, crunchy yumminess. Okay, maybe not just a few kernels.

"Mmm… so good." I close my eyes, savoring the popcorn, and Jack laughs.

"Come on, if you're gonna be home by eight, we'd better get going." Jack says, just as I'm about to pop another piece into my mouth.

"Oh, fine." I pout, and put the already half-empty bag of popcorn away. If Jack didn't stop me, it would probably be empty already. What? I can't help that I just really love caramel popcorn…

When Jack opens the front door and we step outside, it's nearly dark. The sun is just disappearing on the horizon, leaving streaks of pink, purple and orange behind on the darkening blue sky as it fades away slowly.

"It's so beautiful." I say, admiring the vibrant colors of the sunset as we walk down the sidewalk, side by side. I didn't realize I'd spoken aloud until after the words were already out of my mouth.

"Yeah, it is. The most beautiful one I've seen." Jack says softly. But he's not looking at the sunset, he's looking somewhere else. He's looking at me.

I pretend not to notice, but inside my heart skips a beat. He doesn't take his gaze off me, but instead of feeling creeped out like I would if it was any other guy looking at me like that, I actually start smiling. And when Jack sees me smiling, he starts smiling, too. His smile and his beautiful, chocolate-brown eyes are enough to make my heart melt.

The sun disappears behind the horizon, winking and taking with it the colors in the sky. The air gets a little cooler, and I shiver slightly, even though I'm wearing a light cardigan. It's colder than it should be for a March night. I try not to let Jack notice, but he does anyway.

"You cold, Kim?" Jack asks me.

"N-no." I say quickly. "Not at all."

"I don't believe you. You look pretty cold." Jack says, taking off his green hoodie. I know what he's planning on doing before he even does it.

"You don't need to do that, Jack." I protest, as he slips the hoodie over my head (yeah, I know, the whole guy-gives-the-girl-his-sweater cliché. Don't judge me, you gotta admit it sort of works.) "Really. You don't have to."

"That's okay, I want to." He replies. As soon as the sweater's over my head, I quit protesting. It's so warm and cozy, and it smells like Jack. "See, that's better, right?" It

"Mhmm." I say. "Thanks."

He smiles. "Anything for my favorite lady." I blush. I'm really his favorite lady? Wow.

"You're so sweet, Jack. No one's ever said that to me before."

"Well, someone should. You totally deserve it."

"Thanks." I beam at him. I must be the luckiest girl in the world, to have him as my best friend. Although… I wonder if we could ever be more than that. It sure seems like it, judging from the way the past few minutes have felt like to me. But that could just be me…

We're pretty much in front of my house now. Jack walks me to the door, and I take out my keys. But before I unlock the door, I turn around.

"Thanks for walking me home, Jack." I say. "Tonight was a lot of fun. It's good to know I can still beat you at Mario Kart." I smirk.

"Not a problem." He says. "And maybe I let you win. You never know." He raises an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"No, really." He says as I turn around and stick the key in the lock. But before I can turn the doorknob, I turn around again. Jack hasn't made any move to leave yet.

"We can do that again sometime, right?" I ask. But when I look him in the eye, I stop in my tracks. His eyes are so…

He steps closer to me. "Of course we can. Anytime."

"Look, Jack, I just want you to know that I think you're amazing." I say quickly, pressing my lips together at the end of my sentence. Did I just…. No, no, no! What am I thinking? The cold must really be getting to my head. I whirl around, cheeks on fire, and grab the doorknob. I _so _did not just tell Jack that I think he's amazing.

"Kim, wait, don't go!" Before I can run away from him, Jack grabs my arm, but not roughly. He spins me around to face him, and, slowly, he closes in and presses his lips gently to mine. My eyes widen in surprise.

Jack's kissing me, and it's everything I thought it would be. It's sweet, tender, and full of meaning- but it ends too soon. Way too soon. Jack pulls away and runs down the driveway and out of sight, sneakers pounding against the pavement, too loud in the quiet night.

I stand there, frozen on my driveway, eyes still wide open, and the front door open just a crack behind me. Then I realize what just happened, and a huge smile finds its way onto my face.

I did not see that one coming.

**Jack's POV**

I run all the way to my house, heart racing. I can't believe I just kissed Kim. What if she hates me now? What if she never talks to me again, just because I had one weak moment?

The second those words were out of her mouth, I just couldn't help myself. I had to. You know how they always say that if you feel like the moment is right, don't ask her if you can kiss her, just go ahead and kiss her? Well, that's what I did, and I'm regretting it now. Not that I didn't enjoy it- of course, I did- but what if she never speaks to me again? What if she's mad that I kissed her, and she doesn't want to be my best friend anymore?

What if.. what if…. The questions plague me all the way home. I may or may not have just made the worst mistake of my life. What makes me think she would like me back? She could have almost any guy she wants. So what made me think that I was special, in that moment?

**Kim's POV**

I flop down onto my bed, noticing that I'm still wearing Jack's cozy hoodie. I'll return it tomorrow; it was really sweet and thoughtful of him to let me borrow it.

I hope he doesn't regret kissing me. Even more than that, I hope it wasn't just another meaningless kiss to him. Because it was so full of meaning for me.

Brushing my hair, I look in the mirror, inspecting my flaws. What would a guy like Jack see in a girl like me? I'm just plain old me- another one of those blondes that are so abundant here in California. Even though I like to think that I'm different from other girls in some way, I'm probably not. He could have almost any girl- believe me, I've seen the way girls swoon when he simply walks past them in the hallways. Of course, being Jack, he doesn't even notice.

He probably only sees me as a friend.

So what's making me hope that our kiss meant something to him?

**The Next Day… Jack's POV**

I wait at the street corner where I usually meet Kim. I'm nervous, partially because she might not show up after what happened last night, and partially because if she does, it's either going to be super awkward, or she's going to get mad at me for kissing her. Either way, it's not going to be good.

**Kim's POV**

I run to the street corner where I usually meet Jack. I'm five minutes earlier than usual, because I had trouble sleeping last night. At about 6:50 AM, I got out of bed and got ready for school.

I hope Jack's waiting for me there. After what happened last night, he may not be. I really hope he is, though. I don't want our kiss to drive us apart- in fact, I'm sort-of-maybe hoping it'll make us closer.

I'm sure today's not going to be awkward at all. After all, it's Jack we're talking about- he's my best friend. I can pretty much talk to him about anything. Why should it be any different now?

**Jack's POV**

I see a figure with honey-blonde hair walking up the street and sigh in relief. She came. But… that might not mean that she's not mad at me or something. I tense right back up again.

She gets closer, and I get more nervous. My worries from last night come flooding back again.

She walks up to me.

"Hey, Jack, how's it going?" She flashes a cheerful smile at me as we start walking.

"W-w-what?" I ask. She's not going to yell at me or kick me or anything? I thought that she'd be a little mad at least that I kissed her, after all, I saw what she did to that senior named Tom when he just _tried _to kiss her. Of course, he didn't succeed.

It was pretty ugly, and the poor kid couldn't talk normally for weeks. Now, he runs away every time he sees Kim. No surprise there. They don't call Kim 'the Scorpion' for no reason. Can you really blame me for being scared?

She gives me an odd look. "I said, hey, Jack, how's it going?"

"Nothing much." She gives me another odd look, but this time it's a little worried, too.

"Jack, are you okay?" She asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just fine."

"Alright, if you say so."

We walk in silence for a bit.

"Hey, Jack, about last night-" She starts.

I cut her off. "I totally understand that you're mad at me for kissing you. I know it was uncalled for, and I'm sorry. Please don't hate me forever. I know I shouldn't have done it, and I get that you're mad at me. But please don't be mad, and please, please, please don't kick my butt." I say, all in one breath. My voice squeaks at the end, and I flush, embarrassed.

But Kim barely notices. "What? I'm not mad at you! Where did you get that idea, Jack? And of course I won't hate you forever, Jack. You're my best friend, I'm not going to kick your butt for kissing me."

I let out a breath that I didn't realize I had been holding. "Oh, that's really good to hear. For a second I thought you were going to beat me up like you did to Tom(the senior who tried to kiss Kim)."

She laughs. "What? No! I would never do that to you. Besides, you are a second degree black belt, and even though we're the same level, it would be suicide to try and beat you up."

"But I would let you."

"Oh, sure you would. I totally believe that."

"No, really, I would. Punch me."

"No."

"Do it."

"Fine." She punches me halfheartedly on the chest.

"C'mon, Kim. You're way stronger than that."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to punch you just because you asked me to."

A few minutes later, we arrive at school. I'm still unsuccessful at convincing Kim to punch me. After a while, I figure it's a useless fight, and so I just give up. I can't even say how glad I am that she's not mad at me.

We split up to go to our lockers and get ready for classes. Just then, I run into a panicked Jerry.

"Jack, Jack, you gotta help me!" He says, then mutters something that I can't catch. It's probably in Spanish.

"Jerry, what is it?"

"It's about Grace."

**Oooh.. cliffy! I think? Haha, please review and tell me what you thought. Also, if you have any ideas about why Jerry's in a panic, or how to end the story, please let me know! I hope you enjoyed!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	26. Guessing: An Epilogue

**Hey, guys!**

**I am very sad to say that yes, this is the final chapter for The Story of Us. *tear* I wrote it longer than usual for you guys, with almost all of the characters' POVs, so you'd be able to see where each character is now. **

**I just wanted to thank each and every one of you- you have all been so amazing, and every day when I come online and read your reviews, I swear I get teary-eyed. You're just that wonderful! I would give shoutouts to all of you, but that would take a really long time. You know who you are, though!**

**So… shoutouts to Jennlee1, who was my 300****th**** reviewer, and kickforever 13 for being super sweet and wonderful! Also to MusicMusicMusic and KarateGirl, who faithfully reviewed ****_every single _****chapter. You guys are the best.**

**This is a really long epilogue.. haha! Hope you all enjoy this chapter : ) It was a lot of fun to write.**

**Previously on The Story of Us…**

**Jack's POV**

"Jack, Jack, you gotta help me!" He says, then mutters something that I can't catch. It's probably in Spanish.

"Jerry, what is it?"

"It's about Grace."

* * *

"What about Grace? Dude, you gotta calm down. You look like you just ate a saltine, or something. It can't be that bad, can it?" I ask. Jerry goes pale and starts shaking.

"N-n-no saltines. Anything but saltines. Get me away from the saltines!" He shudders.

Okay, I'm guessing whatever happened with Grace isn't as bad as saltines are.

"Jerry. Jerry! Calm. Down. There are no saltines. Look at me! I have no saltines." I say, opening my hands. Jerry stops shaking.

"Oh, okay then. Phew. Anyways, I really really need your help." Jerry says, then stops.

"And….?" I ask, looking at him quiczzically.

"No, that's it." He nods.

"But aren't you going to tell me what you need my help with?" I question. Jerry snaps his fingers.

"Right. I knew I was forgetting something. Well, you know how I promised Grace a surprise?"

"No." I really don't.

"So, I promised Grace a surprise. But I didn't have one planned, and now I really need to surprise her, or else I'm scared Grace will break up with me."

"Grace won't break up with you because you couldn't surprise her." I say as reassuringly as I can manage.

"You don't know that!" Jerry says.

I sigh. "Okay, maybe I don't. So I'm guessing you need help planning a surprise for her?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"You didn't tell me it was that simple! Why are you so worried? You'll be fine."

"Don't call it simple, yo! I've been trying to think of something for weeks, and I still got nothing! It's not "simple"!" He makes air quotes with his fingers, angrily.

"Okay, okay, sorry. Anyways, I've got the perfect way to surprise her. Trust me, you'll love it and so will she."

"Oooh, what is it? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Jerry jumps up and down excitedly, and I sigh again. Jerry can be such a little kid sometimes. I honestly wonder how Grace puts up with him; she must really like him.

I whisper my idea in Jerry's ear, and his eyes go wide.

"Dude, that's brilliant! That plan has got swag! You're the best, Jack, thanks." He claps me on the back, then runs off. I open my locker, smiling. Then, Jerry runs back to me.

"Wait- what was the plan again? I forgot." He says sheepishly.

I raise my eyebrows at him, then tell him again.

"Dude, that's brilliant! That plan has got swag! You're the best, Jack, thanks." He claps me on the back, then runs off. Déjà vu, much?

**Kim's POV**

I wait around the corner near Julie's locker, fingering Milton's note. I wish she would leave already, or something, so I can stick the note in her locker and get going.

It doesn't look like she's leaving anytime soon. The other girl she's been chattering with for the past – I check my watch- seven minutes just left, but she's still rummaging through her locker. You know what? Forget waiting for her to leave. I'm doing this the undercover way.

I walk around the corner, pretending to text someone on my phone. Looking up, I pretend to notice Julie standing there, and I walk up to her, or more importantly, her locker.

"Hey, Julie!" I say brightly. She turns around.

"Oh, hey, Kim." She says.

"I was just wondering if you heard that finals are going to be a week earlier than usual this year." I mentally bite my lip. That was totally made up, and I hope she doesn't notice.

"What! Really? How come they didn't tell us this? I need to get studying right away." She says, pawing through the mess at the bottom of her locker again. You'd think someone with a GPA as high as hers would have a neat locker, but apparently not.

When I'm sure she's not looking at me, I take my chances and drop the note on the top shelf of her locker, where, hopefully, she'll see it when she stands up.

I glance down at my phone, pretending to receive at text. "Oh, sorry, Julie, I gotta go. See ya later!"

"Bye." Says Julie, her voice muffled from inside the locker.

I pretend like I'm running somewhere far away, but I stop around the corner and watch Julie to make sure she'll receive the note. Sure enough, when she stands up, she sees the note there and picks it up. I would love to stick around and see her reaction, but I guess I should probably get out of here before she sees me.

**Julie's POV**

I watch Kim's reflection in the mirror on my locker door. I'm not dumb, you know. I can see her peeking around the corner. What for, though?

I look around, and there's a note on top of my locker. I glance in the mirror. Kim's gone. I'm pretty sure this note wasn't here before she came. How she came and left so abruptly.. it seems fishy, somehow.

I open the note.

_Hi, Julie._

_Just wanted you to know that you're really beautiful and smart._

_I think you're a pretty cool girl, and I would love to get to know you better._

_From, Your Secret Admirer._"

Wow.. this is definitely not what I expected to read when I opened the note. I examine the handwriting. Nope, not anyone's that I know of. But then again, I don't recognize a lot of people's handwriting. I guess I could go around the school and collect samples… I'll see.

I read the note one more time. This person thinks I'm beautiful? That's a first.

I furrow my brow. Who could- or would – have sent me this? I read the note over yet again. It's starting to seem more and more like one of those pranks the popular kids pull on.. you know… those of us who are… you know… not popular. I really don't want to fall for one of those. After all, aren't I supposed to be smarter than that?

But.. what if this is actually from someone who does think I'm beautiful? What then? Is it actually possible that I, Julie, have a secret admirer? Is it?

For once, I really don't know the answer. I guess I'll just have to wait it out and see.

**Jerry's POV (the next day at lunch)**

The first stage of plan 'Surprise Grace' is a go. I don't even know what that means, but Milton said that, so I guess I'll sound smarter if I say that, too.

Milton, Eddie, Bryden and I spent all of last night planning this. Jack's plan is so swag.

I run the plan over in my head. Seems pretty good.

I walk into the cafeteria and slide into the seat beside Grace.

"What to do, girl?" I say. She giggles. The rest of the table is empty- I guess the guys decided to give us some privacy.

As Grace takes another bite of her salad, I watch as Milton sneaks up with the first part of the surprise. He nods at me, and I pull out my phone and type out a quick text to her.

_Hey, Gracie. Look to your left. I love you –Jerry_

I quickly slip my phone into my pocket before Grace can notice. Her phone dings, and I watch as she picks up her phone and reads the message.

She looks at me. "Aww.. Jerry, I love you too!" She hugs me.

"Umm.. your other left, Grace." I say as she squeezes me.

"Oh, right." She looks to her left, and there's a bouquet of colorful flowers sitting beside her. Don't ask me what kind they are, I have no idea. Jack and Milton came with me last night to buy the flowers, so if you want to know what they are, ask them.

She squeals and picks them up. "Jerry! You shouldn't have!" She hugs me again buries her face in them. I wait nervously for her to find the real present. We did put it in, right? I start to panic inside, but keep a smile pasted to my face for my Gracie.

I glance at Milton, who's sitting two tables away from us and wearing huge sunglasses. What's with the sudden change of style? I'm pretty sure he wasn't wearing those five minutes ago. Dude, we're indoors! He gives me a nod. Wait, was that a nod? What if it wasn't? What if-

Grace squeals again, and pulls out the gift card. Two hundred dollars to spend at the Seaford Strip Mall. It cost me over two months of my money from working at the zoo, but I think Gracie's worth it.

"Is the surprise that you were planning?" She asks. I nod "This is the best birthday present slash surprise ever!" She says, eyes shining. Oh, no. No. I completely forgot it was her birthday. How could I?

"Happy.. Birthday… Grace! I totally didn't forget!" I paste another smile to my face.

"Thanks!" She looks at the gift card. "After school, you and I are gonna go spend this together at the mall! We're going to go to Forever 21, Ardene's, H&M …" she rattles off a long list of stores.

"Yay…." I say unenthusiastically.

"I know, right? You're the best boyfriend ever."

"Yay!" I say, more excitedly this time.

Jack catches my eye from across the room, where he's sitting with Kim. He sees Grace's face, and smiles at me. I guess he knows his surprise worked, then.

**Grace's POV**

Jerry is totally the best boyfriend ever. I can't believe that he did this for me! I hug him tight again. I'm so lucky to have him. Since he started going out with me, he hasn't hit on a single girl. It's a miracle, and when I said yes to going out with him in the first place, I didn't expect him to stop hitting on girls. But.. he did. It goes to show how much he's changed over the past few months.

I look at the loaded gift card in my hands again, and sigh a happy sigh. I guess I must be the luckiest girl in the world.

**Jack's POV**

It looks like the surprise worked. Jerry looks a little squished right now, since Grace is hugging him again, but he's happy, too.

Kim notices where I'm looking, and laughs.

"They're so cute together, aren't they?" She sighs.

"Yep, they are." Grace finally releases Jerry, and it's nice to see that he looks way happier than he's been in a while. Sure, he was ecstatic when Grace agreed to go out with him, but this tops even that. I'm guessing he's probably not too excited for the shopping, though. That wouldn't be surprising.

**One week later… (Last period of class)**

**Julie's POV**

I've been receiving notes from my secret admirer for an entire week now. Every day, there's one waiting in or on my locker. I haven't quite been able to catch the person who's sending the notes, since Kim seems to be delivering them for whoever it is. I haven't gotten the chance to ask her who it is, and besides, she probably wouldn't tell me, anyways.

Well, the last note I received told me to meet him on the back field today right after school. I'm quite intrigued to find out who it is. To be honest, I have my suspicions- not to mention my hopes- but I think it's best that I keep those to myself.

I'm counting the minutes until the final bell rings and I can finally meet my secret admirer. Well, at least, I guess he's going to be there. I hope he will.

**Milton's POV**

I watch Julie from across the room. She's unfolding and refolding my note underneath her desk, and smiling softly. She's been happier all week, and I'd like to think it's because of the notes.

The bell rings, and the teacher dismisses us. I'm one of the first ones out of the classroom- that's a first.

I race all the way to my locker, and rush out the doors. The field is deserted, and I'm holding in my hands one single, light pink rose. I picked it out because it means admiration, and also because pink is one of Julie's favorite colors.

I watch as she comes running out the doors, and spots me standing alone on the field. She runs up to me, slowing as she comes closer.

"Hey, Milton." She says.

"H-hi, Julie." I say. There's an awkward silence, then she looks at the rose in my hands and back up at me.

"Milton… are you…. Who's the lucky girl?" She asks, cautiously.

What do I say? I think I can almost hear Jerry saying, "You gotta play it smooth, Milton." That's probably because he said it so many times yesterday, I think I even had nightmares about it.

"It's you." I smile at her, even though I'm close to panicking inside. This may or may not be harder than I thought it would be. Even though I'm the only person on the field, she didn't ask me if I was her secret admirer. And I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure that that's a bad thing.

Or… not. I hand the rose to her, and she smells it before hugging me.

"Milton, are you the one who's been sending me those incredibly sweet and touching notes?"

"Yeah, I am." I watch her nervously, waiting until she runs away, or something. But she doesn't.

"Aww… that's so sweet of you! I knew it was you, but I wasn't sure, and I was going to ask you, but I thought it would be.. you know.. awkward, if it wasn't you." She says.

"Yeah, I know. And wait- you knew it was me?"

"Well.. to be honest, I was sort of hoping it was you." She smiles shyly at me. I smile back at her.

"Hey, do you wanna go get ice cream, or something? If you want, we can study while we eat." I offer. "I'll pay."

"Sure. Wait- is this a date?" Julie asks.

"Um…. It's whatever you want it to be." I say.

"Okay, then, it's not a date." My face must've fallen, because she quickly adds, "It's because I'm not allowed to date until my sixteenth birthday, otherwise, it would definitely be a date. No doubt."

"All right. When's your sixteenth birthday?"

"In four months."

"That's a long time."

"I know." She sighs. "Well, you have until then to get to know me." She smiles. "Let's go for ice cream?"

"Okay. Let's go."

We head to Rosie's (I made this up, not a real place.) for ice cream. Julie picks lemon gelato, and I get plain vanilla. We spend two hours studying and doing homework, then we take the rest of the afternoon off studying to go hang out at the park. Julie's a lot of fun once you get to know her, and we spend the entire afternoon until six o'clock laughing and talking about nothing in particular. I'm hoping that I'll eventually get the guts to ask her out.

I guess I'll ask her out on her birthday. For now, though, I'm going to take the chance to get to know her better.

**Meanwhile… Shawn's POV (yep, he's making another appearance! And he has some good advice for you in the second and third paragraphs *wink*)**

I really don't feel like doing this, but I have to, and I might as well get it over with sooner than later. Bryden's standing with Eddie and Jerry just outside the school doors. I take a deep breath and push the doors open. Walking over to Bryden, I hear him laughing at something Eddie just said.

A few months ago, when I convinced myself that I didn't need friends to get through high school, I was so sure I knew what I was doing. But I didn't, and I learned that the hard way. Friends are way more important than you think. They're there for you when you need them, and you're there for them when they need you. You spend time together just hanging out, and you always tell them everything that happens to you.

I realized, that, without friends, there was no one to talk to during lunch. There was no one to text after school, or share an extra-large pizza with. There was no one to beat your Call of Duty high score, or to tease you about your fears. And honestly, I think that's something everyone needs- a friend. Because, well, life just isn't the same without at least one person by your side, if not more.

I think it's high time that I apologized to my closest friend here in Seaford.

I walk up to them and I stand there awkwardly, until the three of them notice me.

"Oh, hey, Shawn." Eddie says. It's not really much of a friendly greeting, but I'll take what I can get, especially since I know these guys don't really like me anymore.

"Bryden, can I talk to you for a bit?" I ask hesitantly. He's probably going to say no. If he does, that's okay. I just feel like I should tell him before I leave. After all, he was my best friend from the moment I arrived in Seaford to the moment we fought. If I left town without saying goodbye, it would bug me for a while. And while I'm at it, I figure I might as well make sure things are good between us again.

Bryden looks slightly surprised, like he wasn't expecting me to ask to talk to him. But, honestly, why else would I be here?

"Oh, umm, sure. I'll be right back, guys." He says, and walks away with me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Eddie and Jerry exchange worried looks. Dude, it's not like I'm gonna kill him or something! Relax!

After Eddie and Jerry are out of earshot, I stop walking and turn to Bryden. I'm struck by how much he's grown in the past few months- he used to be an inch shorter than me, now he's two inches taller than me. I'm not used to it; it's a little disorienting.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Bryden asks. I know he's not my best friend anymore, and I can see it clearly now in his bored eyes. He couldn't care less what I have to say.

"Um… I'm leaving town for New Jersey in three days, and I just wanted to let you know, since, you know, we were good friends for a while." I say. Bryden raises his eyebrows, looking faintly more interested now.

"Is that all?" He asks. He doesn't even care. That hurts.

"No, it's not. I just wanted to apologize for always making you do things you didn't want to do, and just being a horrible friend in general. I know now that I was the worst friend possible to you, and yet you put up with me for so long. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for that, and even though I know you probably won't forgive me, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry, and I know better now, but it's too late."

"I do." He says, looking more like the Bryden I used to know than the one who was standing in front of me just a few seconds ago.

"You do what?" I ask, confused.

"I forgive you. You may not have been the perfect best friend, but you were still my friend, and nothing can change that. I just wish you had told me this sooner. And also, I'm going to miss you. How long are you gonna be gone for?" He asks.

He what? Did he just forgive me?

He reads my mind. "Yep, I just forgave you. Now, how long are you gonna be gone for?" He asks, smiling now.

"Thank you! I was so sure you wouldn't. And.. umm…. I'm moving. I'm not coming back. My mom got transferred to New Jersey, so I guess that's where I'm staying for the foreseeable future."

"Aw, man. Promise you'll stay in touch?"

"Yeah." I grin, and he grins back. It's nice to be on speaking terms with him again.

I guess apologizing wasn't so bad, after all.

**Meanwhile…Jon's POV**

Emerald and I are at the corner store near Seaford High. She's combing the candy aisle for all her favorite candies- Nerds, Gobstoppers, and Gummy Worms- and I'm staring at the chips, trying to decide which ones I should buy.

Ever since Kim, well, the only way to put it is rejected me, I've become so much closer to Emerald. I've realized that, now that I know Emerald so well, Kim honestly wasn't the right kind of girl for me. Sure, she's an amazing girl, but she's just not my type, you know? But Emerald… she's my type.

We hang out all the time now, and almost every single day right after school, we walk to this corner store. Sometimes we don't buy anything, and other times we blow almost all our pocket money on random junk food. Emerald keeps on telling me she'll get fat or something, but she never does, no matter how many bags of chips she eats.

I think I'm falling for her, but I'm not really sure of that yet. I talked to Bryden a while ago, and he told me to wait it out until I know her really well. I'm taking his advice and waiting it out. Maybe someday I'll ask her out. Maybe, just maybe, she'll even say yes.

I guess Kim's rejection was for the better. I was pretty bummed at first, but I've come to realize that it actually came to be a good thing, in the long run.

**Jack's POV (three days later, almost at night)**

I check my watch anxiously. I sure hope Kim got my text, and that she's on her way here right now.

I glance around. I've timed this so that she'll be here at sunset, which will be perfect for what I'm planning. I sit down on the bench where I asked her to meet me, and wait.

The bench I'm sitting on is right beside a large pond covered in beautiful water lilies. It's actually quite beautiful, with all the pink and white blossoms. A weeping willow tree grows nearby, its branches sweeping the ground, some of them dipping into the water. This is part of a park that just so happens to be right near Kim's house.

Kim runs around the corner just as the sun's beginning to sink below the horizon. Already, streaks of pink, purple and orange are beginning to fill the sky. It must be my lucky day.

Her cheeks are flushed, her beautiful honey-blonde hair is windblown but not messy, and her teal bag is slung over her shoulder, as usual.

"Hey, Jack. Why'd you wanna meet me here?" She asks, sitting down beside me on the bench. Then she notices the single, red rose in my hands and looks at me. That's my cue.

"Kim, ever since that night we kissed, and maybe even before that, I've known that I've had a crush on you. I didn't want to tell you, because I was scared you wouldn't feel the same, but it's time for me to face the music.

Kim, you're the only girl for me. You're beautiful, funny, smart, amazing at extreme sports, and my best friend. Would you please go out with me?" I hold the rose out to her. Her mouth opens, then closes again.

I brace myself for certain rejection.

**Kim's POV**

I'm speechless. I always used to make fun of the girls who would say that- 'I was speechless!', but now I know how it feels. Jack just asked me out. Jack likes me. I'm the only girl for him.

I take the rose he's holding out to me. It's such a beautiful, bright red. This has got to be the most romantic, magical way anyone has ever asked me out. I like it. I like it a lot.

"Jack…." I say. He looks down. "That'so sweet of you. Yes, I'll go out with you!" I'm smiling bigger with each word.

Jack looks up at me, astonished. "Really?"

"Yeah, really." I say. He smiles.

"Kim, I just wanted you to know that I think you're amazing." He's smirking now. Why do those words sound so familiar? Oh, right. That's why.

"Don't even think about it." I say, smiling. Jack puts his arm around me and hugs me tight. I snuggle up against him as we watch the sun go down, inch by inch, on the other side of the pond.

Out of all of the guys who have asked me out over the past few months, Jack is the only one who feels right. He's the only one I know well enough to really, truly trust. I guess- no, I know- that agreeing to go out with him was the right thing to do.

The stars brighten in the dark sky, and Jack and I are still sitting here, his arm around me, perfectly comfortable with each other. Neither of us wants to move, both of us certain that we're where we should be- together.

And this is just the beginning.

***tear* I've gotta stop crying… *tear* Sorry, I'm an overly emotional person. I'm not even kidding.**

**Once again, thank you to everyone (even those of you who don't review!) for reading this story. I totally couldn't have done it without you.**

** Please review one last time for this story and tell me what you thought! Pretty pretty please?**

**SEQUEL ANNOUNCEMENT**

**I have decided that yes, I will be writing a sequel. The first chapter will be posted sometime in September, probably within the first ten days or so. I will be posting a chapter on this story to notify you, but you could also just follow me. Either way works! I will be posting status updates and the summary on my profile, so if you want to check that out, go ahead! **

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


	27. SEQUEL!

**Hiii! The sequel is finally up! Yeah, you can probably tell I'm really excited. In celebration, I'm giving you all virtual apples. Or cookies. Pick either one, and go check it out! **

**Oh, stupid me. I should probably tell you what it's called, first.**

**It's called 'Everything Has Changed'.**

**You can find it on my profile, or, if you're following me, you probably got an email alert. **

**Love you all!**

**Xoxo, lovelifeandwatermelons**


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